


Through Our Eyes

by Angeii_K



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Psychic Bond, Soulmate AU, Torture, but a very happy ending, dystopian au, possibly graphic violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:04:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 97,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angeii_K/pseuds/Angeii_K
Summary: In a world unlike our own, where soulmates exist there is a group called the Tentoria who's only goal is to quash the ones they refer to as Aberrant -who have the unique ability to see through the eyes of their soulmates. But there is one girl who can destroy it all, bring the Tentoria to its knees and become victors in their search for freedom, for love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coffeesometime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesometime/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Through Our Eyes [Cover Art]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15782373) by [coffeesometime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesometime/pseuds/coffeesometime). 



> I'd just like to start off by saying thank you to some really amazing people, 
> 
> First I gotta thank my artist Evie for making such amazing art for this fic and bringing this story to life! I truly adore it and I'm so grateful for the work you did! So go check it out and give her all the love!!!!
> 
> Now, secondly, I'd like to thank my friends, first my girl Laila for helping me plot this whole fic, literally watching movies and shows to help me figure out how to do the dystopian thing! (and of course, bribing me with Regina edits so I would write XD). All the Octopussies, you guys helped me through so many breakdowns and I love you all so much! Truly the best hype crew ever! Now specifically I'd like to thank Pookie, Linds, and Laura because without you this thing never would have been finished, never would have had a synopsis, or even edited, you guys saved my life! I'm so honoured to have friends like you!
> 
> Now, this is where I thank my Beta's each and every one of you, Laura, Linds, and lastly, Zelene who edited this whole fic in three days like a mf champ! So happy Pookie sent you my way! Laura you helped me so much figuring out plots and spent months working with me and I'm so happy with the partnership we have but most importantly the friendship we formed while doing this, I'll admit I'm sad we couldn't close this off together but well, perhaps next time! Linds really appreciated the help and I'm still cursing the hurricane but still, you helped tons, even way back when I first started this fic so thank you all from the bottom of my heart! I know just how much work you put into this with me! You all helped make this story what is it!
> 
> And to tie it up I'd like to thank the mods for organizing this wonderful event! They had a lot on their plate this year so everyone give them a round of applause and maybe offer to send them some cookies, they need it for the amazing work they've done! 
> 
> well, that is all, enjoy reading I can't wait to hear what you all think!!
> 
> Ang.

She never thought the work of a waitress in a small diner would be the thing to keep her alive. The sight of steam from a mug of coffee, the smiles and laughter of colleagues, friendship, and the love in their eyes as they spoke. The sight so unfamiliar to her, but it kept her going and gave her hope of a future as she watches the life of her soulmate play out in front of her…shows her what a normal life was like.

She cherishes every goofy smile the girl flashes herself in the mirror when she catches her own eyes, brown and green…she wonders which were hers and which were this girl's; this girl who doesn't have a care in the world, who made a family in that small diner within an even smaller town. She learnt what love was in the looks she saw in others' eyes, and what a mother's love really looked like when the older woman that ran the kitchen poked her head through the window or set food on the table in front of her…shoving a plate of food at her at the end of the day if she had the next off, making sure she had something to eat with her eyes so filled with love even as she tried to look cross.

She hasn't laughed since she was taken here, she doesn't even remember what laughter sounds like, and she's smiled almost just as little, only the moments of her soulmate's life can manage the smallest smile on her face. She grasps tightly onto those moments focusing on those goofy looks in mirrors and the sight of laughter on the other waitresses' faces. The girl walking down streets freely without a care. She doesn't remember that feeling of the warm sun on her skin; the real sun, not the artificial one in her room that was turned on for a few hours a day. She was ten the last time she'd been outdoors, had taken the moment for granted, she didn't breathe it in long enough that day; she didn't think she'd ever have a day in her life where she couldn't be out there…she didn't hold onto her daddy long enough that day either, she wishes she never let go.

She vividly remembers being carried away by Mother and the doctors. Her screams shaking the whole house as her mother helped these men pull her from her daddy, the man sobbing. She didn't understand then what she had done wrong, or why seeing another's life in her mind was a bad thing…but she learnt fast what happens when people like her mother found out about people like her…

Some days she's convinced she cannot hear, that when sound is absent from around her, when all she can hear is the buzzing of the overhead lights, and the hum of the MRI machine working to see where her visions originate; almost positive she's imagining a distant memory, that her brain is just placing sound where there no longer is, and then electricity is shot through her body and her pain screams bounce around her own skull and she wishes for it all to stop. She keeps her soulmate away, as they try to force the visions in order to learn more about how she conjures them. She prays to keep the beautiful girl, her saviour, from these moments of horror. She must keep the visions as hers, as her safe haven and not connected to Mother or Doctor Whale and Doctor Gold as they watch from behind the glass, away from the pain and torture of the tests…all the tests.

Some days she presses herself to the metal doors and stone walls hoping to hear, to listen to the other prisoners, she knows they are there because when she's removed from her room for tests she sees their doors, and sometimes she hears their pained screams when she's in the MRI…she saw a woman once, she looked like her, tanned skin, hair almost black, and brown eyes that through her off for just a moment before she noticed the slight difference in colour. The woman looked strong and angry.

She found she forgot how to talk, that the only noise she's made for so long was screaming that saying 'Hi' was impossible.

Sometimes she wonders if her soulmate could see her life too but then she decides she hopes she can't because she sees the laughter and freedom of the young girl's life and hers is stuck in this prison, she doesn't want her to see this side of the world. That her soulmate was being hurt and there was no way to help her, no way to understand what was happening.

She didn't understand why she was here, why her mother had two eyes of the same colour along with the two doctors and she and Daddy didn't, his sky blue and a deep brown whereas she had the sea green and the brown…she heard that when soulmates touch their eyes changed back to normal but if that's true then why was daddy's still two colours and her mother's weren't? Did that mean daddy was her true love but she wasn't his? She didn't find out the truth until she was 14 and Mother finally explained to her why she was here as she forced her to use her powers of telepathy, knowing anger was the quickest way to succeed at this point.

She told her the story of who she was, that there were a few people in this world like her, who could see their soulmate's lives and when they came together big things happened. And people like Mother and the doctors, they were born without a soulmate and they were scared of people like her. That they did these tests to try and see if they can find a way to get rid of soulmates, to break the bond. Mother told her how disgusted she was when she found out her own child not only had a soulmate, but also aberrant powers, that people like her needed to be eradicated from this earth…she crushed the MRI machine that day, burst one of the old doctor's eardrums...she hasn't seen him since.

She can never figure her mother out. She and the doctors are always so angry that they couldn't get her to have her visions in the MRI machine. She learnt control at a young age and she thinks it's what's kept her alive these last 12 years. Emma Swan is who has kept her sane and one day she will make it out of here and find Emma, and they could come back and destroy this place together. But until then, she ruminates on the goofy looks in the mirrors and the love in the eyes of Emma's friends, she speaks quietly to herself to relearn words and speech. So far, she's gotten a couple words to come out of her mouth and feels that's a victory in and of itself.

 

* * *

 

Regina has had a strict schedule at the facility for as long as she can remember; a schedule which only deviates to accommodate whatever punishment Mother deems her deserving.

On Mondays, they make her train until she can't so much as levitate a piece of dust let alone lift her own head. Tuesdays, following the rigorous training on Monday, they leave her in a dark room, alone and cold with only the hovering shadow of Dr. Gold behind the glass. Mother drops in now and then to spy on her huddled form in the middle of the room so frail and weak that she falls in and out of consciousness and more often than not she wakes up to find Dr. Whale taking blood or sometimes there is an EEG attached to her head.

Wednesdays are calmer, easy even. Wednesdays felt natural to her as a kid because it wasn't different from before she came here, just Mother being Mother: rude, taunting, and cruel…with threats and harsh words flung at her almost as violently as fists or objects. While she hates Wednesdays, she's learnt how to tune mother out, to block blows and keep herself from getting angry and lashing out like the woman who birthed her. Like she knows they want her to.

Every Thursday at 3 pm she gets taken to the MRI room where she actively keeps her mind from going to Emma and feels the slow passage of each hour. Then three hours later, they experiment with new ways to torture her; always trying to find a way to make her break. Sometimes it's a new level of electric currents shooting through her body, maybe it's tying her up in a vat of ice water that is so cold it burns until she escapes or they take her out, in fear they might actually kill their favourite science Experiment. The cold baths only lasted a few months before she got used to them. Then it was hot baths, ones that definitely burnt her skin, but after a while, she adapted again. At times she thought maybe somehow she could control the temperature, but that wasn't possible, was it?

Everything hurt Fridays, from her organs to the tips of her toes, the air stinging, burning when she moved…that is when she could get enough energy to move. They mostly let her be during Saturday, but the MRI would happen again Sunday afternoon followed by lashings from Mother both verbal and physical…she would sometimes scream at her in the machine hoping that maybe it'll force Regina to retreat to her happy place but she never does. She found other ways to tune it out even once going as far as breaking the intercoms. Though mother wasn't happy about that, Dr. Gold was impressed.

 

* * *

 

"Hello! Can anyone hear me?!" her ears perk up at that, flinging against the cool metal door, ear pressed against it as she tries to listen to words from someone who wasn't the doctors or her mother. "Please, can someone tell me where I am?!"

"Shhh!" She forces out, scared for this boy's safety, talking wasn't allowed. But he kept yelling and she realizes her voice couldn't reach past the doors let alone past her own ears so she bangs, the boy yelping, she bangs again.

"Yo–" she bangs, "wh–" bang, "Le–"

She bangs harder, hoping he would get the hint to shut up before they came down here…she hiccups a sob, they never did understand. And like she expects he starts talking again and this time another bang was heard and she turns her head in that direction.

"I don't –" bang! "Understand!"

"Shut up!" it is the voice of a woman, and she presses her ear to the door to listen, banging on the cold metal of the door.

"Please," She gasps, barely loud enough for even herself to hear…but they would come down soon and Mother always blames her… "Please."

Then it is quiet, the buzzing of the artificial sun the only thing heard as she slides down the door, silent sobs racking her body, it will be okay, it is all going to be okay now.

She looks up at the lights and lets images of Emma slowly fill her mind, her eyes fluttering shut as she watches the woman's life…she has the day off today it seems, choosing to spend the day in watching a movie. Emma likes movies, always comedy or action…unless after a date, then she watches romance and throws popcorn at the screen.

Emma is watching a comedy today, she watches this one a lot, Regina only knew it was a comedy because it was too weird to be anything but…and when she saw Emma's reflection in the TV she was always smiling…Regina likes this movie for that reason only.

A loud scream catches her attention, pulling her away from the odd man in a Hawaiian shirt to the sound of the boy screaming 'no' over and over.

The woman is banging on her door again, she hasn't done that since she arrived, she fought them a lot, she only knew that because Dr. Whale had a black eye and busted nose when he came for her the next day.

"Don't take me! Please! No! Don't! What are you doing?!"

The woman's banging stops, Regina freezes because she can hear footsteps, and she only hears footsteps when they were outside her door…if they took him why would they take her too?

Regina scrambles back, wide eyes looking up as the door was opened and her mother stood in the doorway, "Regina."

She starts shaking her head, mouth moving with silent pleas. Please, I'll be good.

"You know we have cameras, we saw you started it, you know what we feel about that."

She nods, dipping her head guiltily as her eyes shoot here and there. I'm sorry. I'll be good.

"Stand up, it's time for your tests." Her head shoots up and she looks toward the space behind her mother, "He's in the electroshock chamber, you remember what happens when you talk without permission."

She nods, fighting the tears.

"Stand now, Regina."

She scrambles to her feet, dusting off the ratty old grey dress and follows dutifully after Mother, eyes glancing toward the door next to hers, the one she knows houses the woman and as she passes she spies two eyes peeking out of the food slot, following her movements.

Regina has been in here the longest, she thinks she might have been the reason this facility opened but another part of her tells her that these studies are old, that they've been going on long before she was born, so maybe this building was new and she was their first prisoner...she's never really sure, every time she thinks she figures it out another thing occurs to her, sending her theories right back to square one.

She wipes at her cheeks to get rid of the dry tears as she tried to catch sight of their newest resident, she hopes he isn't as young as he sounds.

The buzzing from the door catches her attention and she looks up as it opens, her feet planted on the floor as she stares into the room, cold and dank…clinical…she misses the one from when she was a child with the field and rainbow painted on the wall…but she destroyed that one.

"In the room, Regina."

She shakes her head, she didn't want tests today, her tests were supposed to be tomorrow.

"Now, Regina."

She glares, shaking her head harder and Mother grabs her by the arm so tightly Regina is sure there will be a bruise there tomorrow and drags her into the room, ignoring her whimper of pain as she slams her in the metal chair, pain shooting up Regina's spine and through the thin muscle of her leg from where it connected with the corner of the chair.

"If you can move 15 of those 10-ton weights to the other side of the room you can get a new book."

She looks up at her, it's been forever since she got a new book, and maybe she can pick this one. She nods and Mother steps out of the room, door closing and locking as she moves behind the glass with Dr. Gold, he watches this stuff.

She looks toward the pile of weights, lips pursing and brows furrowing as she lifts the first one, it's shaky at first but it stabilizes and she gets it across the room.

Sometimes she wonders why they're training their powers if they just want to get rid of them, are they trying to find out how much they can take?

This is easy, she likes these tests more than the others, these ones just make her really tired for a few days, the others…well the others sometimes make her wish to die.

She watches the weight float in the air in the middle of the room and she looks toward the glass. She wonders if the weight could break through, but she doesn't try because maybe it'll break but if it doesn't she'll be strapped to the table and have electricity shot through her body.

She does what is asked. Afterward, she has to be carried back to her room, her eyes catch the young boy, he's being pushed in a wheelchair, they always carry her…she doesn't know why. He's much older than she was when she got here though, so that's relieving, he must be closing in on his early teens…he's small though, she wonders if his powers showed up later or if he kept them a secret longer.

That's her last thought before she passes out and she doesn't wake up until hours later and finds a book on the little table by her metal framed bed.

 

* * *

 

The boy doesn't yell again for days and she doesn't hear the woman bang and she finds herself longing for voices and noise again, it makes her want to speak but she remembers the smell of her skin burning and that tingling and buzzing in her veins and she snaps her mouth right back shut. She's unsure why they won't let them speak, is it because their screams can tear things apart? And if so, why torture them when all it does is make them scream? Is that the point? To see what will happen?

Sometimes she thinks about seeing if she can tear her door down, but those cameras are always on and she hasn't figured out where they're located yet, every time she thinks she spots them they're not there after…she's contemplated just bringing the whole building down but there are too many innocents locked up around her so that option always gets pushed out of her mind.

Most she's ever done is hover a pencil in the air at night, they didn't seem to notice that so she uses it to practice control when they aren't doing those tests.

Sometimes she thinks back to when she first got here, to the confusion and then the depression…she remembers when the anger set in…this facility thrived off that anger but they made her feel like a science experiment…like a weapon, that's her worst fear, that she's being trained to be a weapon, expendable…because her mother still looks at her with disgust and the doctors look at her like property. She doesn't like their looks, she thinks there's something more behind their eyes then just disgust and ownership, something dangerous. But she's dangerous too so they haven't tried anything, because her screams can kill them…she sometimes thinks about screaming with that purpose but well, she doesn't want to be like them.

 

* * *

 

Those daily smiles at the diner are starting to fade. The cheer is no longer in the tall lanky brunette who never wears appropriate clothing...she just seems scared more lately. Emma's eyes are looking tired more, Regina thinks maybe it has to do with one of the diner's regulars going away and she's worried about that. But then Emma is giving herself a goofy look in the mirror and she's less so. Maybe it's just a phase, she wishes she could hear them and understand the frowns.

She hears the boy cry at night sometimes, can vaguely hear the woman trying to console him through the door…Regina needs to find out how she managed to get the food slot open.

She's started practising her focus on doing that, but only at night because she can't risk being caught, they're always much harder on her.

She spends a lot of her time sitting against the cold metal door, it's cool against her hot skin as the weather warms. Summer is one of her least favourite months for that reason, and the air is always so stale.

She's staring at the slot, tongue sticking out between her teeth as she tries to get it to open, she smiles brightly for the first time in what must be years when it jiggles, opening a millimetre, she'll take it.

"What's your name?" Comes the gentle voice of the woman and it soothes her, she's never heard someone speak like that. She wishes she had someone like her when she first arrived.

"Henry," Comes his small voice, she thinks this woman must have opened his slot too, these doors are dense and she's never heard the others through them…or was that just because everyone was usually afraid to speak after the first time?

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mulan."

Regina cries, she cries because she's missed voices and she's missed names and kindness and she thinks back to her father calling her his princesa and mija and she doesn't remember his voice, she can barely remember what he looked like most days…she wishes she would forget Mother instead but she sees her almost every day and…she doesn't like thinking of Mother.

"How long have you been here?" The boy asks and she knows exactly how long the woman's been here like she knows how long she has…the tallies cover her walls, but now she can just count it in her mind…knows because her mother still wishes her a happy birthday each year as a way to torture her, to remind her she spent nearly her whole childhood in these four stone walls.

"Seven months."

"And the other lady?" he asks and she gasps, because nobody really knows, do they?

"She was here before I came, her name is Regina I think."

"12." She whispers, her voice pained and horse and she doesn't think they can even hear her because she hasn't spoken above a whisper since she was 11 years old.

There's a long pause, she thinks they might have heard her, she thinks she hears a gasp but she's probably just daydreaming cause the next thing said is,

"That's a pretty name."

"It is."

The boy sniffles, "Why am I here?"

"Because they're scared of people with soulmates…especially ones like us with powers."

"But I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't touch her or anything! My mom says that I'm safe if I don't try and find her…"

"Did you tell someone, about your powers?"

"The car almost hit her, I had to protect her!"

"I'm sorry, I know what it's like, I was a police officer, my dad taught me how to control it when I was young, it wasn't that big of a thing until about 10 years ago and suddenly there were stories that people like us were being ripped from our families…anyway, I was in a shootout, the suspect shot at my partner and I reacted, stopped the bullet mid-air and flung the guy into a building…I was taken here right away."

Regina sobs, was the world really getting that bad? Life through Emma's eyes always looked so happy, so good but then again, it hadn't been recently.

"Hey, it's okay, don't cry." Came a soothing voice, this time it was the boy, Regina suspects he thinks it's the woman, Mulan.

"That's not me, Henry." Mulan answers. "Regina? Can you hear us?"

She hears her food slot opening slowly, metal scraping against metal and she shifts on her knees to look out it, to breathe air that's less stale…less dry.

She taps her knuckle against the metal twice, as if to say yes…her voice never works like she wants it to.

"Was that a yes?" she taps again, "Okay. One tap for no, okay?" two taps, "Are you okay?"

One, she sucks in a breath, eyes finding that pencil and moving it with her mind until it's moving through the room then out the hole, she hears Mulan gasp and she pauses, "It's okay," And then it's moving through the air again writing on the floor, the only thing she wants anyone to ever know...how long she's been here.

She moves the pencil back to her room, grabbing onto it tightly like it's her lifeline and she drifts away, to find Emma…always Emma.

 

* * *

 

They don't talk often, but every night she hears the slot open and she breathes a little easier, sleeps a little sounder. She participates in little conversations the two quietly have, but she always presses herself close to the door, eyes closed as her heart hammers anxiously in her chest because maybe someone might catch on one day and maybe one day the slot won't open…she knows people don't last long here and Mulan has already been here eight months so she knows one day that slot won't open again and she'll know in that moment that the woman next door was dead, that they killed her.

She remembers the first time she realized other people that came in were dying, there was a man older than she was now but younger than mother, he was here for almost a year when she was 12, he didn't make much noise but she remembers waking up after a bad day of tests to him yelling, yelling about her. He demanded to know the perversion and lack of conscious one needed to torture a child…it was the first time she was seen as something more than her powers in years and then the next day he was gone never to be seen again…it was then she realized he was killed, that she was the reason, his need to protect her was his undoing. It broke her.

She didn't expect them to last long after that but she did everything to remember them, names, descriptions…she's been here so long, unable to talk so long that the guards talk freely in front of her about the others so sometimes she gets names…she remembers them all since the first one they brought in after she got here, the man who taught her the true evil of her mother, Daniel, he was kind. Rebecca, older, she cried a lot, she didn't last more than a week before Regina never saw…or well heard her again. Sarah, she saw her once in passing, two months.

Ashley, three months.

Isabella, one month.

Robin, six months and five days.

Emily, eleven months and two weeks.

Charlie, two weeks.

Arthur, six weeks.

There were so many, so goddamn many that Regina constantly fears she won't remember them all but then she also never forgets them, never forgets their lost scared eyes in passing or the shock when they would see her…she was such a small child, frail and weak and her hair way overgrown and people always looked at her as she passed. She remembers the commotion after one test led to her breaking her arm. The doctor that attended her was a woman, kind and sweet, the first time Regina thought maybe there was hope, maybe she'd get out of here. When she saw the woman's eyes, one a brilliant hazel and the other green, she realized the doctor was as much a prisoner in this place as she was. The woman's eyes were filled with tears as she patched Regina up, she was somehow more affected that Regina at the age of 13 was able to cry without a sound, of the scars that already covered so much of her skin...Regina never saw her again.

She learnt many things while in here, nothing she would have learnt out there in the world because there was no need to know how to make yourself small enough to curl under a metal bed, no need to learn how to last in freezing and boiling temperatures unless you were a soldier. There shouldn't ever be a reason for a 12 year old girl not to know what her period was but to know how to hold her breath underwater for nearly 30 minutes, to know how to last on as little food as possible, know how to withstand the worst acts of torture but not understand what was happening to her body, to wake up crying and trembling but also…relieved because maybe she was dying…maybe she was free! She was not that lucky.

She's sure she has scars she's never seen, memories that hide away in the back of her mind, she worries of the day they resurface, sometimes she gets glimpses of her first years and her body trembles, and those silent cries start again…

Everything hurts, but some days, some days she can't feel a thing and others she feels too much, sees too much…remembers too much. Dr. Whale's eyes trace over her body more as she grows, guards gazes linger and by now it's something she considers normal, when it first started when she was 16 she didn't understand, she was scared, so scared but now she just bows her head because when they look at least they don't drag her around, at least they don't yell, at least nothing hurts.

Mother still looks at her with disgust though, sharp hold on her chin one day, nails digging into her flesh as she spat, "You look like your father." Before shoving her away, like she was trash like she didn't matter...nothing. But Regina didn't remember her father enough to see the resemblance anymore, she searches her face in the mirror whenever she can, trying to find something that might be his…that might jog a memory of the blurry images she has of the man, to fully form a face that was a foggy manifestation…all she ever sees is mother and it makes her hate herself, makes her despise her very reflection…she looks like a monster…but that was only fitting since in this place she was the one seen that way.

 

* * *

 

She looks for Emma, closes her eyes and finds her life, messy, slower, things have changed. Everything is changing. Emma's life starts worrying her, she knows Emma, and she knows she fights back a lot but the girl has always been careful.

The diner is quieter lately and the old woman has been crying and the lanky one is no longer around. Emma's neighbour doesn't stop by every day to the diner or to Emma's apartment to drop off food…she notices police around more but they don't look like the police she remembers as a kid…they're scarier...she doesn't like it.

Emma makes less goofy faces in the mirror, she wishes she could comfort her, send a message…hold her but she can't so she's forced to watch those smiles fade, to watch bags slowly form under her eyes, to watch it all fall apart.

One day she wakes to the image of Emma stapling paper to a piece of wood and her heart plummets when she realizes what she's doing. She's making a sign, protesting, something about taking her people…about discrimination…there's a drawing of eyes, scarily lifelike, they look like their eyes, brown and green…from what she's heard Mulan say, something like this can't be safe…but Emma doesn't seem to have powers, maybe she'll be safe…she hopes she's safe.

It changes fast, one minute there's a group of people marching and the next it's chaos. Officers forcing their way into the crowds shooting things and making everything smoky, Emma rubs her eyes a lot more when that stuff slowly wafts around her in the wind. Regina is happy she can't hear because she's sure it's a mess of pained screams…Regina almost wants to look away when she watches a cop smash a young woman over her head with a stick, Emma does, Emma looks away, frozen in the middle of chaos, the only thing unmoving and then…that stillness explodes with one action, one sudden protective instinct.

It's a bloodbath there, she's never seen something so sick and twisted and she's grown up in a 6x6 cell being tortured almost every day for the last 12 years and yet when she looks through Emma's eyes and sees women, men, children being physically attacked, being slammed to the ground she's suddenly sure that this act of pure ignorant hate is the worst she's witnessed.

Children…that's Emma's last straw too, all it takes is a young boy maybe 6 flailing around agonizingly as an officer drags him away from his mother, slams this innocent woman to the ground…forcefully cuffing her as she squirms in his hold, trying to get a look at her son, her son who Regina's sure is screaming and crying.

The scene gets closer and Regina knows Emma is moving toward them, it's not slow either, its fast and shaky and Regina's heart thumps in her chest, constricting in fear, in pain…in ways, she's never felt before and then it stops, her breathing stops as Emma yanks this young boy from the officer's hands, eyes the colour of the sky and the ocean filled with giant tears covering his dirty face. The image shakes again, Emma's eyes leave the boy to look at the officer with his fast-moving mouth and frightening almost inhuman sneer…Emma punches him, quick, sudden and Regina cries out as images distort, things shake and the last thing Regina sees is a giant fist flying towards Emma's face before there's nothing, just blackness.


	2. Chapter 2

She rushes to her door, banging and sobbing, she needs out, she needs to get to Emma! She feels the air distort, the hair on the back of her neck prickle up and her table flies across the room, smashing into the wall followed quickly by her bed, she doesn’t care, she screams, louder than she has in years and the fake sun flickers then explodes, millions of sparks raining down on her and shrouding her room in darkness, but she doesn’t stop, she needs to get to Emma! She needs to save Emma! The walls shake and crack and she needs out, _now!_

The doctor’s show up fast, she expects it but the door is already bending and crumpling from her screams, letting in small streams of flickering white light. “Stand down, Miss Mills!” one yells and Regina doesn’t blink.

She screams louder, she knows that one makes their ears bleed so she keeps it up, she keeps it up even if her throat is raw and feels like it could be bleeding, she doesn’t care, all she can do it think of Emma, of those people…Emma.

“Regina!” she hears Mother's voice, snapping her mind back from Emma, to the woman who put her here, to the woman who is causing Emma and so many innocent people all this pain, she doesn’t care. She doesn’t care because she sees the inside of the van Emma had been thrown into flash in her eyes, the action quick, a slight fluttering of metal walls and then all she sees is floor and blackness again.

_They will all burn._

The door flies off, crashing into the doctors and trapping them against the wall, the lights flickering as she steps out of the room, her bare feet moving on the cold tile as she turns to face Mother, head tilting and eyes wild as the lights explode above them, leaving them in shadows as the lights from the hall seep into the room from behind mother. Her screaming stops, head tilts the other way as she examines the fear flickering over mothers face, realizes it's quiet, the usual eerie silence is somehow more without the quiet hum from the fluorescent lights overhead, she had burst every single one, and the lack of that ringing in her ears is, nice…

“You will stand down or I will have you destroyed! My daughter or not!”

Regina’s face hardens dangerously, eyes flashing up, snarl curling on her lips and then she just flicks her fingers sending her mother flying through the glass doors as if she were a ball of lint, light compared to the 10 tons she trains with…she doesn’t even blink, it takes no energy to do and the sight of her mother flying through the air and the already cracking glass from her screams…it’s cathartic in a way.

She turns her head to look at the two doors, the ones that belong to Mulan and Henry, she blinks once, twice, then she moves her hands out in front of her, slowly balling them into fists, the doors crumbling with the action, breaking away from the hinges then she brings her hands together fast, causing the doors to fly from the frame, looking more like crumpled balls of tinfoil instead of the reinforced steel they really are. Her hands stop just millimetres before her knuckles bang together but the doors collide, fuse together in midair and she blinks again, head tilting to the side, looking toward her mother slowly starting to come to and her heart fills with fear, with the need to block her out so with the slight raise of her chin the crumpled mess flies toward mother, breaking a big hole in the glass and yanking the metal frame free, sticking out in jagged pieces and then the previously crumbled ball breaks up, standing tall in front of the door, blocking any entrance, just floating there in suspended animation.

Henry and Mulan hesitantly step out of their rooms snapping her focus from her mother’s prone form, meeting their eyes for a second before she makes a gesture for them to follow her back into her room. She stares at the stone wall she had fantasized so often of breaking down and rose her hands slowly in front of her, a frightening glint in her eyes before she pulls her hands back against her shoulders and makes one quick strong pushing motion to crash down the thick wall, once, twice and then the bricks finally crumble. She doesn’t blink this time, isn’t shocked by her strength, no, all she cares about is Emma and now she can see freedom so she storms out in bare feet and her tattered dress not even registering the feel of grass under her feet or of real air surrounding her because all she can focus on is Emma, only Emma. She will find her; she will not let Emma end up tortured like her.

“Regina!” Mulan calls, running after her, “You’re her daughter?!”

Regina spins glaring at the brunette woman who seems to be really seeing her for the first time with her scarred skin and matted hair and a dress that has holes and is too big on her frail body, hanging from her like a toddler who put on their father's tank top. Mulan is frozen in place, eyes wide and horrified, skittering over every inch of her in abject horror.

“Your mother locked you up?” Henry’s voice is softer and she looks at him, away from a new kind of horror than the one she’s so used to…this one reminds her of the lady who tried to help her…of Daniel…she moves then, snapping from her thoughts and flinging people away, dozens are charging at them and it’s not long before Mulan is helping her too, her eyes focusing on the crowd and yet she still nods, still answers Henry’s question before she locks eyes on a familiar guard, the sight of his face twists in her stomach, makes fear and anger rise up in her throat trying to force itself out like bile, she flings him across the field and then Henry’s voice is pulling her out of that fear, loosening that lump in her throat.

“Why don’t you talk?”

She looks at him, tries for a smile, but it apparently doesn’t hit the mark because he looks scared so she snaps her head forward again, looking for a transport van. She spots one and she’s suddenly turning, flinging a female officer into another before marching toward their mangles forms. She bends over, slowly working on their clothes, she can’t be seen in the world like this, that much she knows and she knows the best way to get out of here is to blend in.

Mulan catches on it seems, defending her and Henry as she strips both women, slipping on one of their uniforms, not even blinking an eye at the thought of being naked in the middle of a field, although when she turns Henry’s neck is bright red from where he’s now facing away from her, her head tilts in confusion.

“He’s 12, Regina, you just stripped in front of him…” She looks at Mulan, she doesn’t understand, should she be embarrassed? “Shit, they really fucked you up,” Mulan says before slipping the uniform on, maneuvering carefully so she doesn’t traumatize the boy anymore then Regina already has, slipping on the utility belt and checking to see what the officer had on her, “So what’s the plan?”

She screams, everyone else but them hit the ground and then she’s spinning on her heels and heading toward the van.

“I don’t think she has one,” The boy says as they follow, looking at Regina who is silently waiting for them in the passenger seat of the already running van.

Mulan chuckles and gets in, looking at the empty ignition then back to Regina with an odd smile that Regina doesn’t really understand but it doesn’t scare her…and then she got a flash of a memory, of daddy with a similar smile when she made her first jump on her horse…oh, pride. “How old were you when you came here?”

Regina refocuses, blinks a couple times slowly before she holds up both her hands, fingers spread.

“10?” Regina just nods, eyes focused on the gate and before they know it the gate is crumbling and Mulan speeding through it, not a single glance behind them, they just fly down the dusty road.

“But you’re so old.” Henry gasps and she scuffs glaring at the boy nuzzled between them, “No offence.”

“You’re what, 22?” Mulan guesses.

Regina nods, head lulling until it drops on Henry’s shoulder.

“She going to be okay?”

Mulan frowns but she nods as she drives toward the city, “I hope so.”

 

* * *

 

When she wakes back up they’re parked in some random alley in the city and Mulan is gone. she panics at first but Henry is there to quickly calm her, “Hey, it’s okay, she just went to get some things to help clean you up with.”

Her head tilts, _clean me up? What’s wrong with how I look?_ He seems to understand this and he rests his hand on her arm, she jumps, the affectionate touch foreign to her and he quickly retracts his hand, eyes dropping to his lap.

“She said that you look like you just broke out of captivity…which you did, but she says if we wanna get around without being noticed you need to look like an officer so she’s just in there getting something to help fix your hair and stuff.”

Her hands self-consciously move to her hair, they hadn’t let her do much with it in…gosh, when was it? It was when the new doctor came, he looked at her funny…she didn’t understand his stares…she didn’t like them so she got angry…what happened? Oh right, she made the pipes from the shower stall fly through the air and hit him from all angles.

“It’s going to be okay, Regina, Mulan says she has connections with the Underground, places to hide out, we’ll be safe.”

She started shaking her head violently, _no, we don’t have time for this, Emma needs them, where are they? Is it the city? She’s never been to the city, Emma lives in one of the smaller towns…no wait, Mulan said they’re called districts now._

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“No.” She forces out, looking around, the boy frozen from hearing her voice, harsh and gravelly and just barely above a whisper but something in the way the sound ran down his spine in fearful chills he knows that this might feel like yelling to her so he holds up his hands to calm her.

“Mulan will be right back, she will get you cleaned up and whatever you broke us out for, we’ll do that.”

Her eyes lock on his, really looking at them for the first time, both truly beautiful colours, one was a deep green, like the colour of grass in the spring and the other was the colour of coffee, like how Daddy liked it, dark. Then she realizes, she is outside, outside for the first time in 12 years and her heart starts beating fast, she is free!

She presses her body against the window, trying to get a look at the sky, trying to see if she can smell the earth around them…oh, it’s been so long since she’s smelt anything but the stale air of the facility and her own burning skin.

The driver’s side door opens and she tries to fling herself over Henry to get out, to smell the world.

“Whoa!” two voices gasp, Henry, gluing himself against the back of the seat while Mulan’s hands fly out to stop her from toppling out.

“I know, I know but we need to move, when we get to the safe house you can take it all in…” Regina pouts, eyes moving as she takes deep breaths, trying to breathe real air, “How about I open the window a crack?”

She nods, it would be enough air…it would be enough. She moves back, looking oddly at Henry with his wide eyes and his one sunken cheek as he gnaws on it. She pokes it and a laugh comes out and her eyes get so wide, that’s a laugh? Oh! He’s laughing! It’s been so long since she heard real happy laughter so she pokes him again, wondering if that will work to make him laugh more.

He flashes her a goofy smile, nudging her with his elbow as a chuckle broke out, “Why are you doing that?”

She’s tries for a smile again, something small, she can do small right? It’s been so long.

“I don’t understand.” He confesses but smiles back at her, leaning into her side, and she sighs, human contact…especially from the sweet young boy is becoming more common and she takes it, wrapping her arm around him before making the van roar to life.

“I know someone who can help us, it’s only a 20-minute drive from here. You can shower and eat.” Mulan smiles at her like she understands and maybe she does but can anyone really understand what a childhood of captivity feels like?

The window rolls down a few inches and her face is pressed to it, smelling the air, it’s…she can’t explain it, but she never wants to go back inside again.

She lets her eyes droop shut, she needs to check on Emma. It’s been hours since Emma was captured, since she escaped and she needs to rescue her before she spends the rest of her life in a room like hers forever wishing she had breathed in the air a little deeper. Only Emma wouldn’t have Regina’s freedom to hold onto.

 

* * *

 

She doesn’t understand why they’re here, this dark alley with nothing but old warehouses around but Mulan parked the grey transport van two blocks away in some dank alley and now they’re walking, Henry being carried on Mulan’s back so he doesn’t step in anything in his bare feet and Regina pouting at how her shoes keep slipping as she walks, they’re way too big but Mulan doesn’t seem to mind or blink an eye as she carries the boy on her back and walks two blocks to another alley, and up to a rundown building that makes Regina uneasy.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Mulan says, kicking the door with the toe of her boot. Mulan sighs, bouncing to reposition the heavy boy, “It’s me, Mulan, open up!”

Regina jumps as a slot is opened in the metal door, getting flashbacks to her small room, conjuring the smell of the stale air and the buzzing sound of the overhead lights.

“Mulan?! Holy shit! You’re...who’re they?!” A woman asks, angry eyes looking her up and down.

“Merida, C'mon, the kid’s heavy.” Regina notices that Mulan is starting to cry, can hear the strain in her voice, “Please, we need your help, we just escaped the facility.”

The door flies open then, “What the hell do you mean you escaped?! That’s impossible!” but she’s ushering them in, Mulan letting Henry down to the floor as soon as she’s in the building, all stopping to look at Regina as she stands wide-eyed on the other side of the door, “What’s her problem?”

Mulan sighs, Regina thinks she’s upset her so her eyes drop to the ground, shuffling on her feet, “Regina, it’s okay, they’re friends, this is the safe place I told you about, c’mon, it’s okay.”

She doesn’t want to leave the fresh air, even if it smells a bit like trash, it’s air, real air.

“You can come back out after we get you cleaned up.”

She looks up at her, eyes moving from Mulan to Henry to the woman standing off to the side speaking with a very large man.

“It’s safe,” Mulan repeats so she finally takes a step into the building, “C’mon, let’s get you some food, then you can take a nice warm shower.”

The other woman, Merida, leads them through the building, it’s much nicer on the inside, many tables and a bar and there’s music, a piano and at the piano, there is a man.

She hasn’t heard music in years.

She doesn’t even realize she’s crying as the sound surrounds her, it’s so beautiful, sound, oh, she’s missed it.

“Hey, Regina, are you okay?” Henry asks, head tilted as he tries to catch her eye.

She drops the bags she’s holding, her shaky hands move to cover her mouth, it’s so much, too much and yet, she never wants it to stop because it’s beautiful and soft and it’s not the sounds of her own screams or the buzzing of lights and she just…she could listen forever.

She jumps when a hand is placed on her shoulder, wild eyes shooting in that direction but she relaxes when she sees Henry, he seems to understand suddenly, so does Mulan who is tucked into Merida’s side tears streaming down her face as she listens as well.

She lets her eyes drift shut, finding Emma in a cell with a few other people, she sees the boy and his mom, they’re sitting across from her, it’s not like hers, she’s not alone…she still has time to save her.

She suddenly starts moving, walking toward a seat at the bar where she sits, eyes locking with the man’s who stops playing, apparently finally realizing they’re there.

“Who the hell are you?!” he exclaims, shooting up from the piano about to attack.

“Hey!” Mulan’s voice booms out, rattling the glasses behind the bar, Regina jumps, hands flying up to block an attack while her eyes skitter anxiously between the two. “If you actually paid attention to your surroundings more maybe you would have noticed us come in!”

“Mulan?” He deflates, swaying slightly from stopping so suddenly. His eyes finally look at Mulan and he sees the tear tracks on her cheeks before he finally notices the boy, and really takes in Regina, can see the matted hair under the cap and grime covering her skin, can see how the uniform hangs off her form and how her cheekbones are sunken, “Jesus, what in the hell happened to you?”

“I was taken by the Tentoria, I’ve been in the facility for 8 months! You didn’t think to ask around?!”

He looks guilty, “I did...but there was no way to find you…the police…Mulan, you revealing your powers, as a cop, shit went to hell.” He sighs, shaking his head slightly, “I tried, I really did.”

She sighs, “I know, I know…” she moves toward him and he pulls her into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay…but uh, how the hell did you get out?! Nobody leaves that place alive!”

Mulan steps back, flashing a smile at Regina, “She broke us out.”

He turns on her, blue eyes taking her in, “You look like hell.”

Regina scoffs, sneering at him, looking at Mulan silently asking her, _who the hell is this guy? How is he going to help us?_

“He’s like us, but he met his soulmate, he’s the most powerful of us all, he can help.”

“Help with what?” He asks and Mulan just shrugs.

“Emma,” Regina gasps, hand over her heart.

“What?” Mulan asks, eyes dropping to her hand then back up, “Your Soulmate? Is that why you escaped?”

“Em-ma.”

“Why does she sound like that?” Mulan slaps him upside the head making Henry snicker warming Regina’s heart.

“She’s been in captivity for 12 years.”

His eyes go wide, looking at her before he moves in close, a squeak leaving Regina’s throat as he gets in her face, “You’re her? The girl? We thought you were dead.”

Her head tilts, _what are you talking about?_

“What the hell are you going on about? What girl!?”

Regina smirks, Mulan seems to always be on the same page.

He sighs, looking back at Merida, “Find Mary Margaret, have her tell the kitchen to start up some food, and to call Sally, we’re going to need some help with her hair.”

Her hands go to her hair again, _is it really that bad?_

“We’ll take care of you, I promise, we’ll find your soulmate, you’ll never have to go back.”

Merida nods, disappearing up a set of stairs.

“What girl, David?”

He looks down at Regina, taking in her face before he sighs and drops into the stool next to her, “Don’t you remember when it first started? When the Tentoria first started coming for us? There’d been stories all over the country, the world really about the Aberrant, and people started getting scared.” His question directed solely at Mulan.

Mulan nods, she was a teenager when it started but she remembers her father coming home one day, fear in his eyes as he explained to her that she needed to be extra careful.

“It was a few years after Mary Margaret and I started The Underground when a man came in, one striking ice blue eye...I could never forget it especially after he told me his own wife took his daughter away, that he needed help finding her.”

Regina gasps, _Daddy? He went searching for me? Is he still alive? Oh! It’s been so many years! I wonder if I’ll get to hold him again._

“He searched for months before people started going missing, that’s when stories of the Tentoria started, when districts opened and you were locked up when trying to find your soulmate…but there were stories, of this woman who locked up her own daughter when she found out, that our districts facility started with a young girl. Guards weren’t always quiet, they talked, told stories about her crumpling an MRI machine like tinfoil and causing a man to go deaf with just her screams…they were scared, not only of this child but of her mother who watched every one of the tests.”

Regina’s whole body shakes, she can’t breathe.

“It was you?” He asks but she doesn’t need to answer because everything about her is screaming _yes_ , “One guard I talked to, since Mary Margaret I could pass for one of them, he said your screams once caved in the second floor.”

Her head tilts, _did they?_

“You don’t talk much do you?” she shakes her head and he looks heartbroken, “You haven’t changed much, you know?”

That catches her attention, her dual coloured eyes locking onto his light blue, “Your father, he left a picture of you with me, I think it’s still around here somewhere…you’ve been a whispered story in the underground for over a decade.”

_So they know my story?_

A pixie-haired woman comes into view not long after, a kind smile on her face as she hugs Mulan before moving toward her and David, “Food should be a few more minutes and Sally said she’ll be here in an hour.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” He kisses her on the cheek, “This is…I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names.”

“Henry, and that’s Regina.” The boy answers, moving toward Regina and tucking himself into her side, he is small, childlike in that way but his look, so protective, she’s starting to realize that she sought out to protect him but maybe he’s the one that will be doing the protecting.

“Nice to meet you both.” She smiles, “Merida filled me in. She said you’re looking for someone? Perhaps I can be of some assistance.”

Regina looks her over, she doesn’t understand, frowning as her head tilts to the side in silent question.

“I work for the police, since my eyes are normal I don’t get much heat from the higher-ups.”

Regina nods, _pencil, paper, why are these things never around when I need them?_

“She doesn’t speak, but she can write it out,” Henry says, remembering the floating pencil.

Mary Margaret nods, pulling a notepad and pen from her pocket, handing it out to Regina.

She tries a smile, she really does, but nope, it doesn’t work because the woman looks worried and Henry is frowning at her again, “You’re getting there.” He says, patting her hand on his arm.

After a moment she gets to writing everything she knows about Emma and what happened, pausing to go into her visions, to see through Emma’s eyes where she is, maybe a name of something and she writes it all.

“Emma Swan?” She asks, looking down at the slanted printing, “A protest?”

Mary Margaret turns to look at David, smiling, “She must have been a part of the equality protest in the Storybrooke District.”

Regina’s hand shoots out, gripping onto her arm, squeezing and she nods, “That name sound familiar?” Regina starts nodding, “They’re still holding everyone for transport, they’re waiting for the Tentoria to come in and do tests to see if there are any of the Aberrant among the bunch.”

A sob escapes her throat, she needs to get to Emma before they strap her to tables, before they shoot electricity through her body until she can’t move for days.

“Hey, Regina, it’s okay, we’ll find her. We won’t let them do anything to her.” Dear sweet Henry, her protector.

The few members of staff in the building come out carrying platters of food that Henry jumps on, digging in as soon as it is placed down, Mulan was slower but she was just as excited for real food as the boy…she doesn’t think she’s ever seen this much food.

“Eat whatever you like.” David smiles, nodding at them before ushering Mary Margaret off somewhere to talk.

She hesitantly picks up a piece of lettuce with her fingers, looking at it with wrinkled brows before she starts eating. They only really ever got mush in the facility, the food never tasted much like anything so the fact that there was taste of any kind was shocking. She didn’t realize amongst the many things she was missing that taste was one of them. She didn’t eat much, her stomach small after 12 years of eating so little so she could only eat a small salad and a piece of chicken (she forgot what chicken tasted like). After she is done she just looks around, amazed by the world outside her 6x6 room.

 

* * *

 

She forgot how good showers feel, to wash the grime from her skin and feel the water run down her body…and it was much better without the leering doctors. She didn’t realize what she was missing until she’s allowed to be alone and know that there is absolutely nobody watching you.

_This is everything! This is what freedom is, isn’t it?_

She yelps at the knock on the door, attaching herself flat against the far wall of the shower before she hears a voice flow in.

“Regina, when you’re done in there, the girl’s here to deal with your hair.” It’s Mulan and it’s soothing…it's safety…it’s what she thinks a mother might sound like.

She knocks twice on the tile and can hear Mulan’s chuckle, “There are clothes for you in there to change into.”

She steps out of the shower not long after, Mulan helped her brush as much of the mats from her hair as possible but there were still large clumps that hung unevenly with the rest of her hair which hung down her back, past her butt, frizzy and wild after years without proper care.

She looks at the clothes picking up the strange thing on top, it was like a shirt, but it didn’t cover much, not more than her chest maybe, and there were weird claw things, she held it in front of her with a frown... _Would it even fit?_

She shrugs tossing it aside to slip on the tank top and underwear before pulling on the pyjama pants, wet hair soaking through the back of her clothes as she turns around, pulling open the door to find Mulan on the other side with a woman she did not know.

“You must be Regina, I’m Sally, how about we deal with that hair of yours?” She smiles, gesturing to the chair set up on the hardwood floor, she hesitantly steps forward, sitting down, fingers nervously reaching up to scratch at the scars at her hairline.

Sally already has her things set up, running the brush through her quickly curling hair, “It’s very damaged, I might have to cut a lot off, is that okay?” Regina nods slightly, “Honey, you need to stay still when I start cutting.”

“She doesn’t talk.” Mulan says, smiling at Regina, “A thumbs up or down next time, okay?”

She holds up her thumb, letting her eyes drift shut at the feeling of Sally’s fingers working through her hair, and the relief when a mat was cut free, her mind leading her to Emma, her cell was getting emptier with time.

Emma was staring at her fiddling hands, Regina wanted to reach out and still them, she wanted to get to her already but they were waiting for Mary Margaret to report back to them. She wished she could send a message, tell her they were coming.

“Wow.” Her eyes blink open then, looking at Mulan oddly as she gapes at her, did she do something? “You look amazing, Regina.”

Her hand subconsciously went to her hair, running through it, her eyes widening when they fell free from it much quicker than normal.

“Here,” Sally says, handing her a hand-held mirror, “I had to cut off more than I thought but short hair looks good on you.”

Regina smiles, she was actually smiling when she looked at herself…how long was she with Emma?

“You fell asleep.” Mulan snickers, standing up from the large bed and moving to stand in front of her, “She’s going to be blown away when she sees you.”

Regina blushes in response, eyes dropping to look back into the mirror, catching sight of her own eyes and locking onto them, _I’m coming for you, Emma._

“Regina! They found where they’re holding her!” Henry’s voice reaches the room before the boy does, sliding to a stop just in the door, “Wow, you look beautiful.”

Her smile was blinding with how wide it was and it made the boy smile just as big, “Look at you! You’re smiling!”

Mulan squeezes her shoulder, “You have a beautiful smile.” She blushes deeper, “Go change back into the guard's uniform, we’re going to have to go undercover.”

She nods, sliding from the chair and looking to Sally, a hand hesitantly reaching out to gently squeeze her shoulder in thanks before she dashes off to change again, catching her reflection in the mirror and just glad that for the 12 years they at least let her brush her teeth.

 

* * *

 

She sat amongst the group in one of the large booths, Mary Margaret sitting in a chair at the end of the table and a large map was spread out before them. Regina was having a hard time processing everything. She knew the large building was holding Emma but all the reading she did could never prepare her for now, for planning a prison break or seeing her soulmate for the first time...to be honest, she just wanted to go, Emma needed her, every moment spent here made it a greater risk of endangering Emma, of losing Emma.

Her hands fiddled in her lap, her fingernails jagged and sharp from biting them, but what else was she supposed to do to keep them from looking like those people from the Guinness book of world records? She let her eyes flutter shut to look in on Emma when everything around her became too much, it was so noisy, she wasn’t used to that and where at first it was amazing, now she almost misses the silence, the constant noise slowly making a slight pulse manifest in her head, making her want to scratch at the scars again, maybe hide away in a small back room for a few hours but she has to wait, wait until they get Emma and maybe she could hide away for a little bit then.

Emma was pacing in her nearly empty cell, stopping to look through the bars, to guards dressed in their pristine uniforms and other people huddled in their cells, scared.

“So once you get past the gate it's a short drive up to the front, the guards shouldn’t question you since you’re dressed in uniforms from the Tentoria facility so it’s all good from there but getting her out, that might be a little harder.”

Regina snaps out of her vision to focus on Mary Margaret, Mary Margaret who was giving them the whole run down but had to stay home to protect her place in the force as their inside man.

“You look worried, Regina.”

Regina bit her bottom lip, looking toward Mulan who was smiling softly at her from where she sat across the booth squished between Merida and David before she looks toward little Henry with his caring eyes. She picks up the pencil, writing what she wanted to say before passing it over to Henry to either give to the woman or read aloud, Regina didn’t care which the boy chose.

Henry cleared his throat as he looked down preparing to read, “Regina says, ‘I’m worried we will be too late, she’s already been in there for hours and I refuse to let what happened to me happen to her.’”

“I know you’re scared Regina but we’ll get her, they have no plans on moving anyone until morning and a good infantry plan will help this move faster. I promise you, we’ll bring your love home.”

Regina looks at her with wide, tear-filled eyes, taking in all of her, trying to read her before Regina’s eyes fell onto the map, looking at it as she thought on those goofy faces, as she held onto the love she held for Emma as she continues to listen to the plan...although her only plan was getting Emma, so maybe she zoned out again, focusing on watching pale hands fiddle like her own were and watch fingers drum across a jean-clad thigh because Emma’s always been the only one to bring her comfort and safety.

 

* * *

 

They drove the two hours to the Warwick District where Emma was being held until testing. Regina knew they had to get there before the tests began, because although Emma may pass them, Regina didn’t want her to go through the pain brought by the tests.

The van slows slightly, using the coverage of the low sun so David and Merida could sneak out of the back of the truck to find higher ground to cover them leaving just Henry huddled in the back while Mulan and Regina sat up front, Regina’s powers still running the thing and when they got a bang on the back of the cab from Henry telling them they were free to proceed the van started creeping toward the gate, the guards waving them through without a second thought.

Regina’s eyes close as she looks through Emma’s eyes, searching for her but somehow for the first time as she searches her out she felt this pull in her chest that she had to follow, like there was a string tied around her heart that was tugging her toward Emma.

She killed the engine, jumping out of the car and not even looking behind her to check if the others were following as she walks across the field toward the stone building in the distance. It wasn’t much unlike the facility with its large daunting stone buildings however where the facility had surprisingly green grass and nothing but trees surrounding them, this place had yellowing grass and patches of mud, and in the distance, past the gates and the barbed wire lined fences you could see the city, could see the smog in the distance.

She could hear Mulan ask what she was doing but it wasn’t clear, it was like her head was underwater…or how Mother’s voice sounded as volts of electricity shot through her…far away and distant, groggy and unable to pass through the ringing in her ears.

But she didn’t care to try and listen, to try and explain. All she could do was focus on that strong pull that was getting almost painful the more she paid attention to it but the pull meant Emma and this pain, was mild, was non-existent to the pain she’s become accustomed to…but even if it was so painful it felt like she was being torn apart she would power through it if it meant saving Emma because she would do anything for Emma.

Regina’s eyes lock on a brick wall, the tugging stronger and more insistent the closer she gets like a child pulling at her clothing to get her attention. She keeps going, eyes never leaving that red brick wall and once she’s a little more than 6 feet away her eyes droop closed to see Emma, she is staring at herself in the mirror, hand rubbing at her chest with furrowed brows and worried eyes, she looks behind her, to the grey stone. Her eyes snap open, Regina’s standing at that wall, just a few feet away, and Emma, Emma is staring at it like she can see Regina too, like she knows she’s there.

_Huh…_

Regina looks behind her, sees Henry and Mulan stopped about five feet behind her, looking at her funny…no, Henry is smiling, proud, he’s much more chipper than the rest, bounced back from two months of captivity faster than one would imagine…she smiles slightly back, it’s getting easier and she can tell they’re starting to actually look like smiles because Henry’s only grows.

She turns back to face the wall, closes her eyes and sees Emma still at the mirror, can see the brick wall behind her in the murky reflection. She puts up both hands, one foot moving back to plant itself in the mud under her feet, before moving her hands to rest against her shoulders, she closes her eyes, sees through Emma’s and with a deep breath she pushes her hands forward, feeling the air crackle and shift around her and the sounds of cracking stone, her eyes opening at the loud crash and scream as the wall crumbles down around her. Regina’s head tilts in curiosity as she sees Emma for the first time, standing on the toilet, hands over her heart and eyes wide with fear… _she’s beautiful._

“What the hell?!”

A wide smile spreads across her face as she stares at this woman, this amazing, gorgeous woman that kept her alive for 12 years and…her voice is better than she ever imagined…even with her words screeched out like that in fear…Emma Swan is perfection.

She quickly shakes herself out of it, there’s no time to get mushy, to take in every millimetre of that wonderful face…she shakes her head at herself again before she turns and walks away, ready to fight off anyone that tries and comes for her Emma…nobody will hurt her.

She passes between Mulan and Henry while they move toward the blonde who’s still staring after her in shock.

“Emma, we have to go.”

“What’s going on?! How do you know my…” She looks after Regina, realization finally setting in, “Holy shit, that’s my soulmate?!”

Henry nods, a bright smile on his face, “Yup, she broke us out of the facility to rescue you.”

Emma laughs breathlessly, following them out of the cell, stumbling over fallen bricks, “So this is a normal thing for her?”

Henry shrugs, “No, I think this is a new thing.”

“Right…” her eyes move to Regina, watching her back as she throws a guard a good ten feet, “Wow.”

Henry laughs beside her, “She’s awesome, isn’t she!”

Emma nods, _her soulmate, wow…better than she ever imagined…there were a few days in her life where she worried she’d get some creepy dude but this woman…wow, she’s something else!_

Regina turns then, looking at her, head tilted, smile faint, doesn’t even blink as she moves her hands in a pushing motion, Emma spinning around when she feels the air rush past her before she hears a scream and then what sounds like something crunching…which is probably the guy’s bones as he slides down the building _…right, that’s…wow._

Emma’s eyes look all around them, at the dozens of guards and officers running towards them, weapons drawn, chaos and yet Emma has never felt as safe as she does now…watching her soulmate fling large men around like ragdolls… _she’s magnificent._

“Regina! Maybe do the screaming thing again?!” Mulan yells as she crashes two people together, Emma’s eyes widen at the humans floating in the sky before they fall onto the ones the other woman crashed together. “Always a show off,” Mulan mutters with a slight smirk as she stared off into the distance, shaking her head at the hill line.

Regina…the name of her soulmate, Regina, she shakes her head, points a finger at Emma then shakes her head again before storming forward, leading the charge to what Emma now sees is a grey transport vehicle.

“Right, don’t want to deafen the ladylove.”

She smiles as she hears Regina scoff, the first she’s heard from her.

“She doesn’t talk,” Henry informs like he could read her mind, she looks down at the boy with wide eyes. “She knows how to…I think…I dunno. Mulan says it’s ‘cause she was locked up for 12 years not allowed to speak.”

Emma nods slowly, looking at Regina with sad eyes, although they quickly turn to impressed as the woman sends four men flying with the flick of her wrist, whereas Mulan uses both hands to propel two away from the truck.

“Damn…” Henry snickers from next to her and Emma feels something coming from her left, ready to attack, fist reared back but there’s no use because the man that was charging at them is now floating with panicked eyes before he lets out this horrifying scream as he flies through the air and into a group of others…like a damn bowling ball to pins, “Strike…” Emma whispers, looking back toward Regina, slightly proud smirk curling on her lips.

She starts running when she sees Henry move ahead of her, running toward the large grey truck still on the entry road, the back doors open and as she gets closer she hears it hum to life before any of them were actually in the thing. She’s shocked as Henry runs forward, hopping into the back like it’s nothing, “C’mon, Emma! In the back!”

She shakes herself out of it, looks to Mulan who is now climbing into the driver’s seat, her door slamming shut. She moves her eyes from the Asian woman and finds Regina watching her from over the hood of the truck, hands outstretched holding off the guards trying to stop them, and her face impatient as Emma just stares at her.

Suddenly Emma feels a little nudge toward the back, like someone was pushing her and when she looks at Regina with wide eyes, she’s smirking…Emma knows in that moment it was Regina and she shakes her head, rolling her eyes at her soulmate before she runs toward the back of the van, climbing in to see a grinning Henry.

“I’m Henry by the way.”

Emma waves shyly, confused as to why they haven’t pulled away yet and then suddenly there are two people running toward them at full speed…she screams…screams like she’s never screamed in her life, sure they’re about to die and yet she really hopes Regina didn’t hear that.

“Drive!” The man yells as he hops in, hand outstretched and gripping onto the redhead’s as he pulls her in, the doors slamming shut on their own as soon as they’re both in and then the van is whipped around, throwing them all off balance but the others in the van don’t seem to notice or feel it…heck they don’t even move but Emma slides against the wall, pressed snugly against it before she’s thrown slightly forward, her booted foot shooting out, planting themselves into the metal is the only reason she isn’t pressed face first into the other side of the truck.

“Hello, Emma, glad this was a success.” Emma blinks at him as he moves toward the back, knocking on the metal… _crap, a metal divider that means she probably heard that shriek_ … “You rest, Regina, I got it from here.” The man speaks as the thing is pulled open and Regina’s face is in view, she nods, eyes tired and Emma doesn’t understand what they’ve agreed on but she notices for a second that the van slows, however, it’s such a short moment she’s sure she’s imagining it…right?

Their eyes suddenly lock, one green one brown and Regina’s face looks soft and tired and then she falls out of view and Emma wants nothing more than to keep looking at her.

“I’m David, this is Merida.” He points to the woman reclining next to her, eyes closed.

Emma nods eyes never leaving the partition, she can see them flying down the road, away from the prison. “Hi…” It’s hesitant, probably the most hesitant she’s sounded since she was a child but she doesn’t care because she’s too busy looking through the partition, still trying to see Regina…just one more glimpse, it’s all she asks…just one more.

“Relax, she’s fine, just needs to rest, it’s been a busy 16 hours for her.”

Emma nods, head shooting to look when she feels a hand on hers, it’s the boy, Henry.

“She’s okay.”

“16 hours?”

Henry chuckles, shaking his head at her, “I told you, she broke us out when she saw you were in trouble.”

“Saw?”

“Through your eyes…geez, do you know anything about the Aberrant?”

Emma rubs the back of her neck, looks back through the opening, “No, not much…not like they teach us much about them out there…all I’ve heard is that they’re dangerous…” There’s a resounding scoff, Emma’s sure it’s from everyone in the vehicle. “No offence.”

Merida is chuckling next to her, Emma was sure the woman was asleep, “The Tentoria really got a hold on everything. It’s not your fault, you grew up during the beginning of the shit show.”

“I never agreed with them, I’d never been shown proof they were…I mean, they said it was because they were doing such a great job getting them but well…it was all a little too…Trumpy for my taste.”

Merida was laughing more, the sound broken and bitter, “Trumpy…yeah, you could say that…except it's worldwide and there’s no outcry for us…” She shakes her head, eyes downcast as she mutters, “fear is a powerful thing, Emma.”

Emma frowns, remembers Henry’s comment about Regina locked up for 12 years…yeah, this is all so fucked…this whole damn thing, to lock up children and people and say it’s for other’s protection, Emma never believed them, has always fought against it, but she never imagined something like this…that they would lock up innocent children.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina wakes up when they stop, the humming under her no more but she still feels that pull, and it’s softer with Emma so much closer…she kind of likes it.

“We gotta dump this thing. Merida, you’re with me, the rest of you get Emma settled.”

She blinks open her eyes, sees the entrance of the alley to the safe house through the passenger window. She looks at Mulan who’s smiling at her, placing a hand on her shoulder as she says, “It’ll be okay, Regina, I will be back in a flash.”

She hadn’t realized how scared she was until then, that her face must have betrayed her. She nods, looking back through the partition, coming face to face with Emma. She gasps, flinging herself back, a puff of air leaving her mouth at the impact from crashing into the van door.

“Oh shit! You okay?! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

_Emma…_

She falls out of the van, right on her ass, Mulan is chuckling even as she’s looking at her in worry.

_Did she really just open the door on herself? Great, she meant to open the back door not all the doors._

“Regina?!” Her eyes widen, Emma’s standing over her worried.

“Emma,” She doesn’t mean to say it aloud, but she knew she did when she felt it rumble painfully from her throat and Emma’s eyes are wide in wonder now instead of worry.

“You okay?” She asks, Regina’s eyes falling to the hand held out to her, to help her up and she looks from the eyes identical to her own and that pale hand and she wants to reach out, to take it, to never let go but another part of her is so scared, scared of what will happen…of the power. She’s seen what David can do, she saw those guards hovering overhead, she saw his eyes flash red…what if when she touches Emma she becomes dangerous?

“Regina? You okay?”

She nods, frowns when that hand drops to Emma’s side, she wants to take her hand, _no, bring it back, I changed my mind!_

But Emma is shuffling her feet and Regina pushes herself up on her own, Henry reaching out to steady her without much thought…he’s always so sweet. She smiles at him, and he grins back at her, she can see the laughter in his eyes.

She grumbles, gives him a shove toward the opening of the alley, the boy following behind David.

“See you guys shortly,” Merida says as she slips past them, climbing into the passenger seat.

Regina waves, she could see Emma shuffling next to her, can feel that pull still, almost making her want to stumble into Emma’s side, to get as close as they can because it feels like her heart is being ripped from her chest again and she’s honestly unsure if it’s that pull or if it’s because she missed her chance to take her hand.

She watches the van pull away, leaving just her and Emma alone in the darkening alley.

“Sooo,” She turns to look at Emma then, head tilted as the blonde rubs her neck awkwardly,

“I…um…You’re my soulmate, huh?”

Regina can’t help the smile that spreads on her face, it’s small, but she can feel it tugging at her lips and it grows slightly when Emma smiles back.

“This is a little crazy, I mean, I’m not complaining cause you’re…wow, like shit…” Emma laughs nervously, eyes dropping to her feet as she kicks at the road, “I’m not very good at expressing myself, I’m just trying to say you’re really awesome and thank you…you know, for breaking me out of prison…” her eyes rise to meet Regina’s then, and Regina just stares.

_How do I tell her it’s no big deal? That I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to her? That I didn’t want Mother to find her, to realize who she was and kill her…or torture her…to torture us both…?_

Her hand jerks out to touch her but a second later it falls to her side and she frowns at herself, reaches her hand up to scratch at the scar on her temple. She lets out a long sigh before pointing to Emma, waiting for the woman to take notice before moving her hand to rest against her own heart, keeping it there, hoping Emma understands.

“I’m your heart?” Emma asks, feeling her heart both ache and beat rapidly in her chest, she’d never been shown as much love as Regina somehow has shown her in the short time she’s been around her.

Regina starts nodding, patting her own chest two times.

Emma is just about to say something when a woman’s voice calls out to them.

“Inside, ladies, it’s not safe out here!”  
  
Regina looks at her sheepishly before turning and walking down the alley toward the brunette woman standing in the door, arms crossed over her chest.  
  
“Sorry,” Emma says, locking eyes with the woman that was now smiling at her.  
  
“It’s alright, just get inside. You can have some food, take it up to your room if you want to talk in private, I just don’t need you two getting kidnapped off the street.”  
  
Emma watches as the woman reaches out to squeeze Regina’s arm, Regina looking guiltily up at her.  
  
“Show your girl around, you know where your room is, right?” Regina nods. “Okay, good, I left a change of clothes for you in there and something to help you communicate.”  
  
Regina nods again, looking back at Emma, she could feel her eyes boring into her, her brow shooting up in question resulting in Emma turning a rather dark shade of pink.  
  
“Alright, I’ll leave you two.” Mary Margaret turns to smile at Emma, “I’m Mary Margaret by the way.”  
  
“Emma…but I’m going to guess you already know that?”  
  
Regina is watching them curiously, she doesn’t understand the look on Emma’s face, but she’s realized that’s to be expected considering the few emotions she’s actually aware of in comparison to how many there must be out there.  
  
“I do.” Mary Margaret chuckles, squeezing Emma’s shoulder in reassurance before walking away toward David who was sitting at the piano, Henry sat next to him.  
  
Regina quirks an eyebrow at Emma when she turns to look at her.  
  
“What?”  
  
Regina shrugs, a smirk on her face before she moves toward the bar where some food was laid out, turning to look at Emma expectantly.  
  
“Right, so uh, you want to eat here or in your room?” Emma asks, blushing a deep red now as she rubs the back of her neck, toeing the ground with her boots anxiously.  
  
Regina huffs, _seriously? What have I gotten myself into?  
_  
“Right, so here?”  
  
Regina laughs, nodding as she grabs a plate and pushes it toward Emma pointing at the food and crossing her arms over her chest, foot tapping on the ground.  
  
“Okay…” Emma says, reaching out to scoop some eggs and bacon on her plate before reaching for a couple pieces of toast, “You going to eat anything?”  
  
Regina shakes her head before turning and walking away, Emma just staring after her.  
  
“I think that means you should follow her,” Emma turns to the smirking boy before taking off to catch up with Regina as she disappears down a hall.  
  
“Fuck.” She hisses, looking around the hall, so many doors, which one is the right one?  
  
Regina pops out from a doorway then, rolling her eyes as she waves the blonde forward, Emma quickly moving into the room, jumping slightly as the door shuts, “Maybe we should work on some hand signals? Maybe sign language would be something to think about?”  
  
Regina tilts her head at her, pointing to the bed, “Right, sit and eat, got it. You know, you’re very demanding.”  
  
Regina’s head tilts again, a frown playing on her lips.  
  
“It’s okay, I kinda like it.” Emma reassures Regina, receiving a hesitant smile in return, relaxing Emma a bit as she climbs onto the bed, jaw falling open and eyes widening when she looks up to see Regina undoing her shirt, “Whoa! Jesus!” her hands shooting up to cover her eyes while her whole body turns bright red.  
  
_Right, this makes people uncomfortable…  
_  
She clears her throat and when Emma peeks from between her fingers she flashes her an apologetic smile before turning to head to the bathroom with her change of clothes  
  
When Regina returns from the bathroom she timidly sits at the end of the ridiculously large bed, she has no idea what she needs all this space for, the whole thing was about as big as her room in the facility and the comfortableness was shocking, she wanted to lay in it and never get up again…it was the complete opposite from her old bed, the mattress hard, laying on top of the metal frame which she imagined would be more comfortable than the lumps that formed within the mattress after years of use, stabbing her in the back.  
  
“So, uh, how do you want to do this?”  
  
Her eyes shot up to meet Emma’s, the woman sitting at the other end of the bed picking at the food on her plate, her own eyes searching her taking in every millimetre of her face and the expanse of skin on show.  
  
She knows she has many scars on her body, she knows there is a nasty one on her chest from a test that could be seen over her top but that’s been there for so long she often forgets about it, especially since nobody ever looks at her as sadly as Emma is right now as her eyes roam over her, curious and unapologetic as she takes in what must be the horrifying and ugly form of the person she’s supposed to love, to spend her life with. She suddenly feels ashamed of all the marks, of the nasty scars that marred a good portion of her body.  
  
She tries to cover up, to block Emma from the hideousness of her body.  
  
“No, don’t! Don’t be ashamed.”  
  
Regina scuffs, tilting her chin up like she wasn’t thinking of everything about herself that might scare her saviour away.  
  
“You’re beautiful, Regina.” Emma has this soft goofy smile on her face that makes her heart flutter and her chest fill with warmth that spreads all over as she looks at this perfect woman playing with her food looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the whole world, “So, how does this all work? We touch and you get your full powers and all that?” Regina nods, right hand raising to scratch at one of the scars on her temples, “But you don’t want that yet, to touch?”  
  
She shakes her head, frowning as she fears everything but mostly, that Emma will think she doesn’t want to touch her because she does, she wants to feel her hand clasped in hers, to trace the lines on her palms and the freckles on her pale skin, to press her finger into the dimples on her cheeks and chin…to see if her eyes are green or brown…to feel love and safety, to never leave her side, her arms, to protect her from everything dark in the cruel world, to protect her from her mother…to protect everyone from her mother and the people like her.    
  
“It’s okay, I understand, it’s a lot to process…I’m nervous too, my parents…they disappeared when I was a baby and I was taken to a foster home. I grew up in the system and I never really felt affection, until Ingrid but soon that wasn’t safe anymore so at 16 I ran away, got a job at this diner run by Granny, and I’ve been there since, got myself a nice little place…but I guess you know that, huh?”  
  
Regina nods, a small smile on her face as she listens to Emma speak, heard the names of these people she watches, lives with almost every day for the last seven years.  
  
“What’s it like, seeing through my eyes?”  
  
Regina’s head tilts, more amazing than I could ever really express. She looks back at the laptop next to her at the end of the bed and scoops it up, She’d seen Emma use one of these enough times that she knew the gist of it and nothing but reading for the last 12 years had at least kept her spelling and words recent enough so she began typing, giving her answer.  
  
**“It’s more amazing than I could ever properly explain. From the day I first saw you…well not you, it was your hand and you were drawing a picture, I don’t remember what it was, maybe a dog but I remember thinking it was a dream until it happens again and this time it was your face in the reflection of the mirror, all chubby cheeks and lopsided smile as you washed your hands…and I remember seeing into your eyes and seeing my own, and my heart leapt and I knew you were my soulmate, that we were meant to be and I never wanted to stop seeing that goofy toothless smile…although I did hope it wouldn’t stay toothless forever.”** She clicks enter and is surprised to hear the thing speak, so surprised she jumps making Emma chuckle before she watches those beautiful eyes soften and then rise to meet hers as the computer finishes talking and then she continues typing again, **“Emma Swan. I watched you write that name every day on your homework and watched you play soccer, watched your goofy smiles turn into funny faces and shy glances and I knew I needed to find you because I saw happiness in your eyes, something I longed for…but people like me, no matter the age, are considered a threat and my mother was one of the head members of the Tentoria so when I told her of the amazing girl, of my soulmate with matching eyes and a goofy smile that I could see when I closed my eyes she and two men took me away to the facility where I was locked up in a room about the size of this bed where I would spend forever in…or well at least the last 12 years.  
  
But every day I closed my eyes and sought you out, I found solace in your goofy faces and the love that surrounded you, in the freedom of fresh air and just freedom…of being able to walk down the street and laugh with friends…to talk, to understand love. You kept me alive, kept my heart going when I just wanted to die, you flushed out the bad memories and the buzzing ache of the electroshock therapy…kept the crippling loneliness away because you gave me hope that one day, one day I’d find you and I could be happy.”  
**  
She blinks away the tears as she hits enter, eyes meeting Emma’s curious ones when she looks up, she watches them cloud over and fill with tears as they search her body again, food long forgotten.  
  
“What the fuck…is that how…” She trails off, but Regina sees as her eyes move to the scars on her temples and she nods, sometimes she could still swear she felt the electricity humming through her veins. “Why don’t you speak?”  
  
Regina frowns and begins typing again, **“I wasn’t allowed to, my screams made a doctor go deaf, apparently caved in a whole floor, and crumpled an MRI machine like a ball of tinfoil…they feared what I could do with words, if I could use mind control…the only noise I made for 11 years were screams of agony.”  
**  
Emma puts her plate on the bedside table and scoots forward on the bed until she is right in front of Regina with only the laptop separating them, “I’m here, and I promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you again and you don’t need to talk if you don’t want to and if you do, you don’t have to be scared or ashamed because from the moment you broke down my cell wall I knew you were it for me, and I’m not scared of you, I think you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever laid eyes on and I look forward to getting to know you better.”  
  
Regina feels that warmth spreading through her again as she sees that goofy smile up close and real, just the knowledge that if she wanted to…and if Emma did too she could reach out and touch her, to hold her and express how much she means to her, well it makes her heart do flips in her chest.  
  
“What?” Emma laughs uncomfortable, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.  
  
Regina bites her lip shyly before she quickly types out a response, **“You’re perfect.”  
**  
Emma’s whole face flushes a bright shade of red, “Well you’re pretty incredible yourself! Extraordinary really, out of this damn world!”  
  
Regina drops her eyes, hand moving to scratch at her scars on her right temple nervously.  
  
“Do they hurt?”  
  
Regina’s eyes shoot up to meet Emma’s, her brows furrowing at the odd way Emma was looking at her, she couldn’t quiet place the look, she could honestly say she’s never seen a look like that before, she doesn’t understand the almost sad looking eyes and the slight, almost kind smile. She drops her hand to her lap, dipping her head so her hair falls and covers the scars as she shakes her head no very slowly.  
  
Emma lets out a long sigh, “Did you see the day I ran away?”  
  
Regina’s head shoots up, lips pursing and brows furrowing in thought, she remembers passing out when Emma was watching a movie with the new adult, ‘foster mother’ was what Emma calls them, and then she remembers when she checked in later the next morning Emma was sitting in a booth at Granny’s.  
  
Emma laughs softly while reaching back for her plate of food. She hands Regina a piece of toast and waits for her to take a bite before picking up a piece of bacon for herself. "Ingrid was the name of my foster mother. I had been with her since I was 14 and we were talking about her adopting me. About a year into living with her I had asked if she knew about my parents. All she knew was that the Tentoria took them away and I was placed into the system. Anyway...I ran away the night they came for Ingrid. She had powers like you but I never knew until today, I didn't understand what was going on at the time she was being taken away, all I knew was suddenly I was in a closet and the door was jammed and wouldn't open as the woman I considered my mother fought and was dragged away by those people. I know now she was protecting me from the Tentoria like you did.”  
  
**“I never saw her in the facility where I was held,”** Regina types out, not knowing if that would help Emma at all, knowing she was at least never in Regina’s facility.  
  
“Thank you…” Emma husks, taking a bite of her bacon, eyes filling with tears. “Do you think she’s still in one of those places like you were?”  
  
Regina frowns, eyes dropping to the keyboard, she’s never known anyone to last more than a couple years in the facility before they vanish, she’s always assumed they died, no longer able to handle the torture subjected to them.  
  
“Oh…” Emma breathes, “But she could, right? Maybe my parents too?” Emma’s lip wobbles and Regina suddenly realizes this is heartbreak, this is what a child looks like when they realize they lost their parents, isn’t it?  
  
**“I’m sorry, Emma, I don’t know…”**  
  
“Oh, okay…that’s okay…”  
  
**“But, maybe Mary Margaret and David will know something…maybe Mulan…Emma, look at me.”** Emma’s eyes raise to meet hers a few moments after the electronic voice makes the request, **“I’ll help you find out what happened to them, however the chances of them still being alive after all these years…”** Regina shakes her head at herself, “ **but who knows, maybe my mother’s facility was worse than the others.”  
**  
“I can’t believe they’ve been hurting innocent people and children for all these years and nobody has done anything about it!”  
  
Regina smiles softly at Emma, making the anger flashing across her face vanish as she locks eyes with Regina’s once more, **“It’s not your fault, Emma, you didn’t know, you couldn’t have known.”  
**  
“How di–right, you’ve known me for 12 years.”  
  
Regina smirks, eyes focusing on the computer as she types, **“I’ve always known you, Emma Swan.”  
**  
“Okay, seriously how does it work? The whole super human powers and psychic abilities?”  
  
Regina shrugs, **“Your guess is as good as mine.”  
**  
Emma frowns, “So you have no idea–”  
  
**“I know how to control my powers and how to access them if that’s what you’re wondering.”** Emma chuckles when the robotic voice cuts her off, **“Sorry. I just, I don’t know why some people get them and others don’t and how they work…”  
**  
“You mentioned tests, were they trying to figure it out–”  
  
Regina frowns, scratching her temple again, **“I’m not comfortable with this topic.”  
**  
“Oh, I…sorry…” Emma looks down at her plate, stuffing eggs in her mouth, the conversation lagging, “Um, where’s my room?”  
  
Regina’s head shoots up to hers with wide eyes that look frantically around the giant room.  
  
“You didn’t think of that, did you?” Regina shakes her head and Emma laughs, “I’d just say we can share a room but there’s too strong a chance of accidently touching in our sleep so…”  
  
Regina nods slowly, lips pursing before she leaps off the bed and storms out of the room, leaving a very confused Emma in her path.  
  
Regina storms right up to David and Mary Margaret sitting at the piano, glaring down at them.  
  
“Anything we can help you with, Regina?”  
  
“What’s wrong, sweetie? Everything going alright with Emma?”  
  
Regina’s glare falters and her lip wobbles as she shrugs, Mary Margaret’s hand falling to her crossed arms to comfort her. Regina jumps slightly from the touch, body trembling as she looks at the murky greens eyes of the other woman.  
  
“What’s wrong?”  
  
Regina huffs, angry at the words for not leaving her mouth, her arms snapping to her sides as she stomps her foot, grabbing Mary Margaret’s hand to pull her along, the woman forced to do just that as David laughs at Mary Margaret as she stumbles over her own feet.  
  
“Regina, calm down, I’m sure everything is fine. I was nervous the first time I met David too but when–” She stops talking when Regina grinds to a halt, glaring up at her, “What?”  
  
Regina rolls her eyes, shaking her head.  
  
“You’re not nervous about touching Emma for the first time?” Regina huffs, and she looks down the hall toward where she knows Emma is, literally feeling that pull, but when she doesn’t see her soulmate she looks back at Mary Margaret and nods, then shakes her head, “Okay you are nervous?” Regina nods, “Then what’s no?” Regina huffs, stomping her foot as she gestures wildly toward the bedroom, “I don’t understand.”  
  
Regina throws her arms up in the air, letting out a quiet grumble that makes the air around them get thick for a second before she starts pulling Mary Margaret toward her bedroom again, coming to a stop just in the doorway and gesturing toward the bed with Emma on it looking very confused with a mouth full of food, probably bacon considering the half eaten strip in her hands.  
  
“Emma?”  
  
Regina growls and the bed shakes making Emma squeak in surprise.  
  
“The bed?” Regina nods then points at Emma, then herself before she gestures wildly to the bed once again, “Oh, you’re nervous about sleeping with Emma, you just met you don’t have to–What?” She asks again as Regina face palms and Emma starts turning a bright shade of red as she sputters on her food, coughing as she almost chokes on it.  
  
Emma waves her down as Regina starts pacing, mouth moving with silent words, “Reg–” Emma tries but she just starts coughing again, Regina spinning to look at her with wide eyes, rushing toward her before stopping suddenly, panicked eyes shooting between Emma and Mary Margaret as she fiddles with her hands.  
  
“Hey, it’s okay, I got her.” Mary Margaret soothes, walking up to Emma and patting her on the back.  
  
Emma looks up when she hears the sound of typing, finding Regina leaning over the footboard, lip held between her teeth as she types quickly.  
  
**“Where will Emma sleep?! We can’t share a bed! I really can’t believe you of all people would try and play matchmaker! I saw that as something David would do but not you!”  
**  
Mary Margaret laughs, “You met me a few hours ago, and he is my soulmate, we have a lot in common.”  
  
Regina huffs, **“She needs a place to sleep.”  
**  
“Emma can sleep next door, but I remember how strong that pull was when I first met David, so I just thought sharing a room would be easier but if you don’t want to touch yet…”  
  
Regina’s eyes look sad as she looks at Emma who is watching them silently.  
  
“Um, uh, this, um, what if we shared a room, but not beds?”  
  
Regina looks around, **“Where will you sleep, the floor?!”  
**  
“Well no, I was thinking the couch.”  
  
Regina looks toward the small couch, **“If you insist on this I’ll take the couch or floor, I’m used to sleeping on hard surfaces, I doubt I’ll be very comfortable on the bed anyway.”  
**  
“You’ve been locked up for 12 years you are not sleeping on the floor!”  
  
Regina huffs, **“You don’t get to tell me what to do!”  
**  
“Yeah, well neither do you!”  
  
**“I’ll take the floor!”  
**  
“No, I will!” Emma shouts at the damn automated voice.  
  
“Emma…” Regina snarls, the room starting to shake a little bit as her frustration builds.  
  
“Whoa! Ladies, calm down, we can just move you to a larger room and David can move another bed in!” Mary Margaret yells both girls turning to look at her with wild eyes, “Jesus, I am not looking forward to the day Regina starts talking…”  
  
Regina huffs, glaring at her.  
  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma demands, Regina surprised at how protective she sounds making her heart do that stupid thing again.  
  
“I just mean you’re going to be very loud when you fight.”  
  
“Oh…well to be honest once she learns to control the volume on that thing we’re all goners.”  
  
Mary Margaret chuckles, “You got a point there, Swan. Okay. I’ll go talk to David about setting up another room, you two just relax…and ah, Emma we’re going to need your sizes for when we go shopping for all of you later, we do not have enough clothing in stock for all of you.”  
  
Emma nods, “Sure I’ll write it down…you need Regina’s too?”  
  
Mary Margaret shakes her head, “We got her sizes covered, we measured her when she came in.”  
  
Emma suddenly really didn’t want to know why they needed to measure the woman, “Okay, I’ll uh, get on that…”  
  
Mary Margaret nods and steps out of the room, leaving them alone again.  
  
Emma turns to look at Regina who was staring down at the laptop with furrowed brows, “You’re trying to figure out the volume aren’t you?”  
  
**“Yes!”** the voice blasted from the speakers and Regina jumps, but a stupidly wide smile was spread across her face as she looks up at Emma only to find her sprawled over the bed, body shaking with laughter, she has beautiful laughter…  
  
“God that was the best thing ever!” Emma exclaims between fits of laughter.  
  
Regina focuses on the computer again, typing without her hands again, **“Perfect.”  
**  
Emma stops laughing, looking at Regina with curious eyes when the sound was much quieter, like the woman was whispering, “What?”  
  
**“Your laughter is beautiful, I could listen to it all day.”** Regina types, her cheeks pinking as the words flowed into the room.  
  
“I uh…thanks…I look forward to hearing yours someday.”  
  
Regina’s eyes widen, **“Really? What if it hurts you?”  
**  
“Laughter can’t hurt someone, Regina…I mean it can make it hard to breathe and you could sound like an idiot or a donkey, but it could never cause someone else harm.”  
  
**“What if mine does…”  
**  
“Damn, they really fucked you up.” Regina looks up at her with wide eyes, “What I mean is they made you so scared of your own voice that you’re now worried to use it, to laugh because you think it’ll hurt me.”  
  
**“It could.”  
**  
“I know it won’t. Do you think David never laughs? Cries? Yells? He talks, and Mary Margaret is perfectly fine. Mulan talks too, and Henry. Does Henry laugh?” Regina nods. “Did you get hurt when he laughed?” Regina shakes her head no, “It’s safe to express yourself, Regina. They were just scared idiots who needed a way to control you.”  
  
Regina looks down, hand moving to scratch at her scars, she knows it’s a nervous tick but she’s never been able to stop it.  
  
“I’m not scared of you, okay? I can never be scared of you.”  
  
Regina looks up at her, love oozing out of her suddenly, her hand moving over her heart like it did earlier.  
  
“Yes, you’re my heart too.”  
  
Regina’s responding smile was breathtaking, Emma is floored, she wants nothing more than to wrap this woman up in her arms and never let her go but she also knows that’s not what Regina wants so she flashes her a smile just as wide hoping Regina understands its meaning.  
  
 

* * *

   
  
They move into a room that is bigger than her apartment back in Storybrooke, heck, bigger than almost every place she’s ever lived in! It already has one bed at the end of the room Regina standing in the corner watching David with wide eyes almost wider than hers at the size of this place! Also probably at the fact that David was floating pieces of the bed into the room, lining them up at the other side and there shouldn’t be room left over with two queen size beds but there was...so much room.  
  
“Uh, why is this place so big!?”  
  
David laughs as he moves to the middle of all the pieces of the bed frame, a screwdriver floating toward him as he says, “It used to be a warehouse, Emma, so there are lots of large rooms for storage, we’re just turning this one into your bedroom.”  
  
Emma nods, looking around to the recently put together bed and then back to the man, “Uh, so why not just use your brain power stuff to put it together?”  
  
David looks up from where he was screwing one of the screws, “That’s delicate work, we can’t use our powers for everything, Emma…I’m sure you’d rather I do this right than have your bed fall out from under you.”  
  
Emma nods before looking back at Regina who still looks like she was having some kind of moment, “You okay?” she doesn’t look toward her, eyes still shooting around the room wildly, “Regina, you okay?”  
  
Her eyes snap to Emma quickly then, nodding as she looks around one more time.  
  
“You sure? You look a little freaked out.”  
  
She nods again, giving Emma a thumbs up and this hesitant little smile, forced and awkward and…adorable.  
  
“You don’t have to try and be anything around me.” Emma husks and Regina’s eyes soften suddenly. “We’re soulmates, right? Mean’s I love you for you.”  
  
Regina blushes, looking away again.  
  
“I mean…I want to know the real you, love the real you not the one you think I want to love…we were made for each other, fucked up parts and all.”  
  
Regina’s eyes shoot up to look at her so fast when Emma cusses, it was almost comical, to be honest, “What?”  
  
Regina starts blushing, looking around as she steps closer, lips pursed as she tries to figure out a way to voice what she was thinking.  
  
David laughs from behind her and Emma turns to see the man with his back turned, “She got taken away at 10, Emma, she probably hasn’t heard much swearing.”  
  
“Oh…” Emma breathes, eyes hesitant as she looks back toward Regina with her pink tinted cheeks, taking a few hesitant steps toward her Emma asks, “Are you not comfortable with it? Should I not swear?”  
  
Regina starts shaking her head no, eyes panicked like she was about to lose something special.  
  
Emma chuckles, “Do you want me to say it again?”  
  
Regina’s smile is hesitant but she nods, looking around the room, eyes locking on David's back as the man chuckles again.  
  
“You two are adorable. I’m done here I’ll get the mattress and be right back, you two have fun.” Regina glares at him as he struts out, chuckling to himself.  
  
“Seriously, where did you find that guy?” Emma asks and Regina gestures around the room. “Right, he runs this place.”  
  
Regina nods, moving to sit on the put together bed, tracing the lines in the mattress.  
  
“So, any requests? Fuck again? Maybe shit? Asshole?” Emma adores the way Regina looks like it was somehow freedom to hear those words, like they were heaven coming from Emma…she thought Regina was heaven.  
  
Regina smirks, holding up her finger to make the number one.  
  
“Fuck again? Okay, you’re starting big.”  
  
Regina lets out this shy laugh, looking up at Emma with these big eyes that match Emma's, the mirror image of her own. Where Emma’s green eye was on the right, Regina’s was on the left, it was beautiful but Emma always loved their brown eye more, she found it held something more…Regina’s head tilts and Emma blushes, caught staring.  
  
“You’re fucking gorgeous, you know that? I used to dream about my soulmate…just hands and eyes and…I think I could see you in my dreams sometimes.” Emma speaks as she traces the design on the wooden footboard, eyes slowly looking up at Regina and her heart skips and gallops in her chest in a matter of seconds, her breath being torn from her body as she sees those eyes…soft and beautiful, full of so much wonder and love…Emma never once saw someone look at her the way Regina does…the way she was right now…like she could hang the moon, like she could do no wrong…like she owns a piece of her soul and I guess she does, they were two parts of the same soul, isn’t that what soulmates were? Two broken pieces coming together to feel whole again?…Emma wants to be whole again.  
  
Regina tilts her head and pushes up on her knees so they were eye level, investigating Emma’s face before a cloth comes flying through the room and hits Emma in the side of the head, surprising her, but the most shocking thing is the surprised yelp Regina lets out as she flings herself across the bed, curling up and bobbing…she looks so small.  
  
Emma picks up the fallen cloth and that’s when Emma realizes she was crying, “Did you try and get me a tissue?”  
  
Regina sniffles, nodding, her body stilling when she didn’t hear any anger but she still stays curled up just in case.  
  
“Did you accidently just hit me with a cloth trying to wipe my tears?” Emma chuckles, it was honestly hilarious…except Regina didn’t see it that way, it’s like she was expecting something bad to happen because of a harmless mistake…it took Emma a moment to realize that’s exactly what she expects because that’s probably what happened in the facility, punishment was probably the only outcome Regina knows. “Regina, hey, it’s okay, I’m not mad, it’s sweet and pretty funny…I mean it totally killed the mood but it was funny!”  
  
Regina looks at her cautiously, Emma flashing her a goofy smile and Regina’s eyes soften again and her tense muscles relax just slightly.  
  
“I promise I’ll never hurt you.” Emma locks eyes with Regina, slowly walking toward the side of the bed, kneeling next to the mattress so they were at eye level once more, Regina’s eyes searching her and following her, unsure, looking like a scared animal. “I promise, nothing bad will happen to you again if I have any say in it.”  
  
Emma reaches out, placing her hand an inch away from Regina’s so they could feel the energy humming off their skin and that pull again… “You can accidently hit me with as many cloths as you like.”  
  
Regina blushes, eyes dropping away from Emma’s to look at that hand so close to hers, looking at it like it was something grand and intangible, and couldn’t possibly be real.  
  
“I’m not goin’ anywhere.”  
  
Regina’s eyes fall closed, like she is focusing on something and Emma stands, looking down at her, eyes skimming over her small frame before she hears a crash, looking up to see a mattress floating into the room, Emma can't do anything but laugh at the true insanity of her life now…Emma looks down at Regina when she laughs too, her eyes still closed.  
  
“Are you…are you using my eyes!?” Regina blushes, looking shyly up at Emma, “That’s so cool! Oh my god! We could have a fake psychic act! I mean…people will think it’s real but we would know…although would it be real? I mean you can see through my eyes so that’s pretty psychic in my opinion…”  
  
Regina pushes herself up, wiping away her tears when Emma holds out the cloth toward her, their breaths holding as Regina takes it, scared about touching and wanting to so badly.  
  
“How's it going in here, ladies?” David says as he walks in behind the mattress that was now hovering over what will soon be Emma’s bed.  
  
“Uh, good?” Emma rubs the back of her neck, looking around the large room again…the room she was going to be sharing with Regina.  
  
“Well, bathroom is through there,” He points toward a door in the far corner of the room, “I’ll go get linens for the beds, towels, all that and then later today Mary Margaret will go to the store to get you both some clothing…uh, she will be in later to talk sizes with you, Emma.” He nods, looking around.  
  
“She mentioned that earlier,” Emma smirks before asking, “I figured you’d have a giant stock of clothes?”  
  
David chuckles, letting the mattress down as he turns to look at them, “We usually do but we also don’t usually get four people in at once and usually not all women around the same size…also they don’t usually stay for this long but we feel it’s best to keep you ladies close by for the time being so you will need more than a few things to wear.”  
  
Emma nods, “Right…”  
  
“Anyway-I’ll be right back with everything needed. And if you want Mary Margaret to pick you up anything special from the store just add it to your list.”  
  
“Of course! Um…and thanks, for like all of this…saving me.”  
  
“Hey, no thanks necessary, kiddo, it’s literally my job…and Regina did most of the hard work, I just levitated a few guys and drove the van back.”  
  
“Right…well I already thanked her…but yeah,” Emma blushes looking back at Regina as she silently watches their conversation, “I mean I’ll never be able to properly thank you…but I really am grateful, Regina…to all of you…who knows where I’d have ended up without you.”  
  
Regina’s eyes drop, hand raising to scratch one of the twin scar on her temple shyly.  
  
“Right…sorry.” Emma looks away, looking back to where David was once standing to find him gone… “Right…I um, you should know now that I tend to put my foot in my own mouth a lot .” Regina looks up at her with a slight smirk on her face, “Hey, shut up! It could be worse! No need to give me that look!”  
  
Regina shakes her head at her, bright loving smile stretching on her face.  
  
“Yeah well, you are stuck with all this so, HA! I got a massive superpowered babe and you got my clumsy ass.”  
  
Regina blushes while rolling her eyes…and then she smirks as her eyes wander over Emma, shrugging a second later making Emma laugh because it was hilarious! Regina was able to say a lot with a few looks or gestures…learning more new ways every moment.  
  
“Funny, truly, you should be a comedian.”  
  
Regina rolls her eyes, crossing her legs as she stares up at Emma.  
  
“Your snark is amazing and you don’t even speak…I’m worried about the actual words rolling around in that head of yours.”  
  
Regina smirks, mouthing fuck and completely stunning Emma into silence, she just stares at Regina wondering what that word would sound like if it left her lips, she heard her voice once, hours ago when she spoke her name so quietly, voice hoarse and low and Emma hopes one day she’ll get the honour of hearing it again.  
  
 

* * *

   
  
Regina stares anxiously at Emma across the room trying to put the sheet on her bed, Regina wants to help but she doesn’t exactly know how or if Emma would want it…I mean the swearing definitely made it seem like she did.  
  
“Fuck! No! Stay put you littl–” the corner of the sheet snaps from over the edge of the mattress ending up in the middle of the bed, a quiet snort leaving Regina’s mouth of its own accord making Emma look at her with a glare before she blows a lock of hair from her face, “Don’t laugh at me!”  
  
Regina bites her lip, reaching out her hand, eyes squinting as she pulls the sheet toward the edge, making the mattress hover slightly.  
  
“Okay, thanks, my soulmate having mind powers just got 10 times better! You wanna just do– Hey! Not nice!” Regina arches a brow, hands now crossed over her chest as Emma pulls the sheet from her face, “What was that for!?”  
  
Regina looks pointedly toward the other side of the bed, _idiot._  
  
Emma pouts, “What?”  
  
Regina huffs, slapping her hands down on the mattress next to her before looking toward their open door, lips pursing as she calls forth the computer.  
  
“Regina?” Emma asks hesitantly stepping forward but freezes when she hears a frightened exclamation from the hallway,  
  
“What the hell!?”  
  
“Uh? You okay!?” Emma yells back, moving toward the door but stopping suddenly when the laptop floats through the door followed by an annoyed David.  
  
“Regina, you almost hit me with that thing.”  
  
Regina looks at him, eyes filled with guilt and just a flicker of fear, _I’m so sorry!  
_  
“It’s okay, you didn’t know any better,” David says, stepping forward and offering a kind smile, “I can teach you how to sense other objects and people in other rooms, that sound good?”  
  
Regina smiles widely, nodding her head vigorously as she looks at Emma with enough excitement in her eyes Emma was almost certain she could feel it filling her up.  
  
“Until then, let’s not transport anything that could possible take anyone’s head off.”  
  
Regina nods, opening the computer and typing out her response with an obnoxious smirk, **“Aye aye captain.”** And she finishes with a mock salute.  
  
“Hilarious. Are you still trying to put your sheet on, Emma?”  
  
Emma blushes and Regina smirks.  
  
**“She isn’t exactly the most coordinated person.”** The electronic voice fills the room and Emma turns to glare at her.  
  
“I’ll have you know I’m as coordinated as a gazelle!” Regina arches a challenging eyebrow, “Wha…I haven’t broken anything…in two years!” Regina’s other eyebrow joins the first one high on her forehead, “On my person…” she smirks, “I hate that you know me this well! How can I be suave when you’ve seen all my failures?!”  
  
Regina’s smirk softens to a loving smile, _oh Emma…_ **“I don’t care about you being suave, Emma. I love the real you, clumsy idiot and all.”  
**  
Emma’s smile grew, stretching across her face and mesmerizing Regina within seconds, the sight even more amazing the more she sees it here, in person…but this one, this one is different, she can’t place it, doesn’t understand what exactly makes it different but it is.  
  
“You swore.”  
  
Regina’s eyes widen, hand clasping over her mouth to stop the snort of laughter from escaping.  
  
“Look at you! I’m so proud! Like a regular woman now! I’m rubbing off on you slowly! Soon you’ll be cussing up a storm and packing away three burgers at a time!”  
  
Regina arches a brow again, laughter easing away.  
  
“I’m gonna teach you so many naughty things!”  
  
Regina’s eyes widen and David sputters drawing both of their attention.  
  
“I ah, well that’s my leave…” and he quickly scurries away, the door shutting with a loud thud.  
  
“Uh, what did I…oh,” Emma blushes, “I didn’t mean…well I mean…I –” Emma got impossibly brighter, “Fuck me…”  
  
Regina starts blushing too now even as laughter starts bubbling up in her again, it was such an odd feeling still, but the more time she spends around Emma the more she found herself wanting to or actually laughing.  
  
“Regina I…well…fuck.”  
  
And that was it, that is the last straw and Regina presses both her hands to her mouth as soon as the sputtering noise burst from her lips, her shoulders shaking with now silent laughter.  
  
“Well, I’m glad you think it’s so funny!” Emma huffs and then her eyes widen, “You think it’s funny! Oh my god! Regina! You’re laughing! C’mon! Let it out!”  
  
Regina gasps on the laughter, shaking her head because she can control it…she can, Regina’s eyes widen as a loud guffaw left her mouth and Emma’s smile from earlier could not compare to the one she was sporting now!  
  
“Yes! C’mon, Reg, let it out! Laugh your ass off!” Emma cheers, giggles breaking up her words, “You got a beautiful laugh.”  
  
Regina looks at her with wide tear filled eyes, tears from laughter, from trying so hard to keep it in…the sound so weird and foreign to her own ears…she thought hearing Henry laugh for the first time was weird but hearing herself laugh for the first time in over a decade, it was…it was mind blowing.  
  
Emma was looking at her with that odd look again, smile so wide it crinkles her eyes…eyes that were so soft…when Regina looks into them she realizes what she feels when she did…she felt love, she feels loved…Emma was looking at her with love in her eyes. So that’s what love’s supposed to look like?  
  
“What?” Emma asks, brows furrowing as Regina stops laughing and was now staring at her, staring at her like she’s some odd mystical, magical being.  
  
Regina moves off the bed, standing right in front of Emma, staring into her eyes, noses almost touching but still not, Regina finding herself addicted to the buzz coming from Emma and that slight pull, tugging at her heart, demanding she gets closer, that she touch her, that she hug her…demanding her to let them be one again.  
  
“Whoa…do you feel that?!” Emma gasps, frozen in place but somehow swaying toward her, Regina has to force herself to take a slight step back, eyes widening with Emma’s when the pull felt like a sharp tug, like it got used to the close space and it didn’t want to let it go, to give out just the slightest bit of slack. “I’m never gonna get used to this.” Emma laughs awkwardly.  
  
Regina smiles this hesitant yet understanding smile at her, eyes saying everything she wishes she could, but the laughter took so much out of her and she feels the constriction in her throat tightening like the thread keeping them close together.  
  
“You okay?”  
  
Regina nods, eyes investigating the soft and familiar features, skimming over faint freckles, while letting herself feel the comfort she always gets from Emma, only this time from the real thing and not just what she saw through her eyes, but from the actual humming of her skin and the pull that had readjusted to the distance finally...to the safety that Emma always gives off.  
  
“I wish I could touch you,” Emma breaths and Regina’s eyes snap back to Emma’s wide and curious with the slightest bit of understanding and fear.  
  
_Me too…but I’m not ready...  
_  
Emma frowns, like she understood her, “I know you don’t want to yet, I get that…no pressure I just…you look so sad and I just want to touch you, to hug you and make you feel better, but I know I can’t and it kinda hurts, y’know?”  
  
Regina nods, eyes dropping to look down at her fiddling hands, _too bad it’s not a kiss that releases my powers, right?  
_  
Emma sighs, “It’s crazy, isn’t it? That all it takes is a little touch, an accidental bump even and you’re all powerful and shit.”  
  
_Crazy indeed…  
_  
“I wish I knew what you were thinking.” Regina looks up at her, nodding once to herself, “What?” then Emma heard the keys from the keyboard clicking away, Regina’s eyes not leaving hers and then a minute or so later (time lost in each other’s eyes) the computer speaks up again.  
  
**“I really hope this works, anyway here goes nothing! I want nothing more than to reach out and touch you, it’s all I’ve wanted for over a decade but I’m scared because of the powers it will bring as you know. But Emma, my dear sweet Emma, my saviour, never doubt that I want to touch you as much as you do me, and in time we will get there but for now, I ask for your patience until I’m ready. But know, when I look into your eyes, I see love, I see safety, and for once in my life I think I truly understand what home feels like. I feel that pull in my chest, demanding I give in to it and wrap you in my arms and never let go because the thing is, Emma, I love you, you are my heart, my soul, you are the reason I am alive; you’re my every breath, however I still don’t know HOW to love very well, only love I ever felt in my whole life was from my father…and then for you but I clung to you for the last 12 years, clung to every moment of your life because it’s all I had…all I have and I fear that I don’t actually know anything about relationships, of even being a normal person. I don’t understand half the things I see on people’s faces, I don’t understand the look you’re giving me right now, I think it’s love, it feels like love but I don’t recognize it. I don’t understand so much, Emma, so I ask of you to be patient because I’m learning and I’m healing…but never forget that I love you, that I crave your touch just as much…and one day, one day I’ll feel it but not today…maybe even not this week…month…but soon, my darling, soon.”  
**  
Tears were flowing from Regina’s eyes, and as she watches Emma while her words play from the computer she sees tears slowly well and then fall from Emma’s as well, that look of love, at least she hopes, shining brightly through their shared eyes.  
  
“I…I think it’s love too.” Emma husks, head tilting as she takes in Regina’s face, “And I understand, like I said, I’m happy to wait…I’m not going anywhere…and I’ll teach you all about people, about love…I’ll be your human teacher.” Emma smirks, “My little alien.”  
  
Regina scuffs, rolling her eyes but still love shines through. **“Idiot.”  
**  
“Yours.” Emma says, smiling that goofy smile, “Can’t believe I got lucky enough to have a soulmate like you.”  
  
_I wouldn’t call it luck, I’m a disaster…you deserve much better than me.  
_  
“Okay, I don’t like that look you’re giving me! If you’re on some stupid self-hatred thing I’ll…I’ll fight you!”  
  
Regina arches an eyebrow, _Is that so, Emma?  
_  
“I know self-deprecating looks like I know the back of my hand! And that,” Emma gestures to Regina’s face, “Is one, so like, stop it! You’re awesome, troubled past or not! Mine wasn’t exactly a walk in the park either…not that it’s compared to yours…I just mean we all got baggage and I’m here to stay, and I’ll keep telling you that every day if I have to, Regina!”  
  
Regina’s eyes fall again, taking a step back, she can feel so many emotions welling in her chest that she doesn't know what to do with…heck, she wasn’t even sure what all of them were!  
  
“Just, stop thinking you’re not good enough for love…because of everyone I’ve ever met you are the most worthy of love…and c’mon! You broke me out of prison! You broke Henry and Mulan out of prison and you barely know them…Regina, you’re extraordinary!”  
  
Regina hesitantly looks up at her, eyes wide and curious as she tries to read Emma, she still hasn’t figured that look out.  
  
“It’s pride and a little irritation,” Emma whispers, “That’s what I’m feeling, I’m so proud of everything you’ve managed to do and irritated that you don’t see it…and maybe some anger at what they did to you…if I ever meet your mother Imma deck her.”  
  
Regina’s eyes somehow got wider as they flicker frantically across Emma’s face before locking on Regina’s eyes, expression determined but also a little scared. **“You will never see her!”** the automated voice came at full volume, Regina’s eyes blazing, **“Not if I can help it! She will never lay eyes on you! I’ve kept her away from you this long I won’t let that change now!”  
**  
“Whoa, Regina, breathe,” Emma holds out her hands placatingly as she watches Regina’s chest rise and fall with quick breaths, can hear them rumbling from her throat, and the room felt tight and so small, like the air was constricting around them, “She won’t find us, and I’m not gonna go looking for her…Regina, you’re safe now, I won’t let anything happen to you.”  
  
**“I’m not scared about what she will do to me! This is all for you! I need to protect you! But what if my being here, what if hurts you…what if it brings her to you?!”  
**  
“That won’t happen!”  
  
**“You don’t know that!”  
**  
“You’re right,” Emma breathes, hands hovering between them, “you’re right I don’t know that for sure, but I know me, and everyone else will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, like you did for us.”  
  
**“I don’t want you getting hurt for me!”  
**  
“And I don’t want you getting hurt for me either, but in the short time I’ve known you I’ve seen that there’s no stopping you from doing whatever you need to do to protect me…and I ask for you to accept that there’s no stopping me from protecting you any way I can.”  
  
**“No! I protect you !”  
**  
Emma huffs, calming hands moving to tear through her hair, “Regina! You’re my soulmate! That’s not how it works! I refuse to sit back and watch you fight! That’s not my thing, and you should know that!”  
  
**“I can’t lose you, Emma! I couldn’t survive without you! I can’t imagine what I’d turn into if you were taken from me!”  
**  
“I told you, I’m not going anywhere.” Emma’s voice is soft, hands held out again, almost like she was inviting Regina to take them, they both know it wasn’t going to happen but even the automatic gesture of care and comfort, futile or not, warms Regina’s heart and pushes aside some of the fear for a moment before it came flooding back because Emma means so much to her! She’s the only thing that can keep her calm in times of need.  
  
“You don’t know that…” she said, she really said, voice sad and gruff…but what really shocks Emma into silence, what stops her breathing, was just how quiet and broken her voice sounds, like her world was crumbling…and Emma realizes then, in that moment that even the thought of losing her felt to Regina like her world ending because like Regina said, Emma is her world, Emma’s the thing that keeps her heart beating, keeps her breathing.  
  
Emma’s eyes refocus when she sees movement, sees Regina wiping away her own tears with the back of her hands…and the air that was once so constricting now felt like it was humming, uneasy, like a second away from everything crumbling…Emma was starting to notice Regina’s emotions had a strong tie into her powers and that the powers manipulate the air around them when everything becomes heightened. “I’m not going anywhere.” Emma states with more conviction, “There’s no getting rid of me, Regina, not even death…I promise you, I’ll be with you until the day you die…and then in the afterlife because there’s no way I’m letting you leave me alone.”  
  
Regina looks up with sad eyes, she just wants to collapse into Emma’s arms and never let go but…  
  
“I know…one day,” Emma smiles reassuringly, “Now, what do you say we finish making my bed then get the cook to make us some sundaes and watch some TV…I have so much to teach you!”  
  
**“Deflection? Really?”  
**  
Emma shrugs, “Every time we talk you get upset…and you can’t tell me you don’t wanna watch me get my ass kicked by a sheet again and then eat some ice cream?”  
  
Regina bites her lip, hand raising to scratch at her scars and finally the air calms down with one slight nod before the mattress hovers a few inches above the frame. Emma moves to the other side, grabbing a corner of the sheet,“You grab the opposite end,” Regina nods again, moving slowly and gripping on and pulling it over the corner, “And don’t think we’re not gonna talk about the talking thing, young lady!” The sheet fell out of her grip and snaps back to the middle of the bed, Emma snorting and sputtering with laughter.  
  
**“You think that’s funny do you?”** The computers voice was monotone but as Emma looked up to see hands on hips and pursed lips Emma knew she was in deep shit.  
  
“Regina…I’m sorry…I–” Two fingers on Regina’s right hip twitch and a pillow went flying through the air, smacking Emma on the side on the head, “Not cool, Regina! Not cool at all! Unfair advantage! At least you could play fair!”  
  
Regina scuffs, fingers on both hands twitching again and the sheet was pulled tight over all sides and the mattress fell back onto the frame, Regina grinning down at her job well done.  
  
“Show off.”  
  
**“You promised ice cream?”** The computer asks while Regina bats her eyes at her.  
  
“I don’t think you deserve it anymore…” Regina pouts and an eyebrow raises, “Okay! Fine you totally do! Especially since you got out a whole sentence earlier!”  
  
Regina blushes, nibbling her lip, **“Don’t get used to it…that took way too much out of me.”  
**  
Emma frowns at the words, stepping closer, “Hey, you don’t have to rush this, I’m just saying you deserve something for it because I know how hard it must have been…but one step at a time, I don’t care how long it takes or if it never happens…but little things count and I’m pretty sure you’ve talked more in these last couple days than you have in 12 years.”  
  
Regina’s gaze drops and she nods.  
  
“So! What would ya like, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry? Neapolitan? Chocolate sauce? No! Caramel?”  
  
Regina rolls her eyes, **“How about Neapolitan with chocolate and caramel sauce with a banana, sprinkles, gummy bears, chocolate chips, and a cherry on top?”  
**  
“Damn! A lady after my own heart!” Regina smirks, brow quirking up, “You knew that was my fave didn’t you?”  
  
**“I’m surprised you forgot the sprinkles, gummy bears, and chocolate chips.”  
**  
Emma blushes, “Well I wasn’t sure how sweet your tooth was…”  
  
Regina shrugs, **“Well I guess we’re about to find out, my darling…now, ice cream and that odd gay warrior show? The one that looks like it was made in the late 1900s?”  
**  
Emma rolls her eyes, “I happen to like vintage TV, sue me!”  
  
Regina smirks before strutting out the door…the door that opens on its own…well not its own, Regina used her mind powers…she did need practice after all.  


* * *

   
  
The rest of that first night went by fast, it was almost easy until sleep caught up with her and she found herself dreading it…unsure if it would be an escape or if she would be thrust back into the trap that was her existence for the last 12 years.  
  
She watches Emma move around their room getting ready for bed, the small lamps next to the bed giving the room a faint yellow glow…Emma looks beautiful but Regina can’t help but be scared because she’s already revealed so much and she doesn’t know what her dreams will bring.  
  
“You okay?” Emma asks and Regina’s focus zeros in on her eyes, on the brow furrows in what she now knows is worry.  
  
She nods, hands stopping the unconscious fiddling of the blanket.  
  
“I can sit with you until you fall asleep…if you’re scared.”  
  
Regina’s head tilts to the side in confusion, how did she…  
  
“I’m your soulmate too, y’know. You might have watched me grow up but I’m pretty good at reading people, but with you Regina…well it’s like I’ve known you my whole life as well and I guess, technically I have…if not for many lives.” Emma shrugs, stepping closer to trace the design on the footboard.  
  
Regina smiles faintly at her before scooting over to give Emma room to sit next to her.  
  
“I have to admit this has been the weirdest day of my whole life,” Emma sighs as she drops onto the bed, back leaning against the pillows and her whole body relaxing when she feels the warmth Regina’s body just left behind…it felt like home.  
  
Regina sighs, shuffling down the bed so she was laying on her side, eyes looking up at Emma.  
  
“I guess you already know that though…”  
  
Regina offers her a smile, _I do…but it’s been a pretty eventful one for me as well…and in a good way for once.  
_  
“Well, just think, now that we found each other all the days will be great and magical.”  
  
Regina hums, watching as Emma scoots down on the bed as well, laying so they are eye to eye.  
  
“Try to get some sleep, Regina, I’ll be here until you do.”  
  
Regina nods, letting her eyes close and trying to relax but it wasn’t until she was looking at her own face that she remembers her calming place was Emma…was Emma’s life through her eyes.  
  
“What?” Emma asks when Regina’s eyes pop back open to meet hers.  
  
Regina smirks, before closing her eyes again, trying hard to fall asleep but it’s so weird looking at herself, watching Emma’s eyes focus on different parts, from her closed eyes, the scar at her temple, her nose, freckles…and then lastly her lips, from the scar on her top lip to just looking at them for a long while before that focus moved over her jaw and to her hand just under her chin…it was oddly unnerving and before Regina knew it there was nothing but blackness. She was almost sure she was the one who fell asleep for just a second but the fact that she was aware of the change made her realize that it was Emma who fell asleep.  
  
Regina sighs, opening her eyes to look at the relaxed face of her soulmate, Emma’s hand placed in the middle of the bed, getting as close to Regina as she could without risking any accidental touching. _Dork…_ Regina smiles to herself, laying there watching Emma for a few moments longer before she pulls herself out of bed and slowly moves across the room, mentally flicking off the lights as she rests her head against the pillow of Emma’s bed, trying to fall asleep once more.  
  
It was an hour later and she has still yet to fall asleep, the bed too soft, the room so big…she isn’t used to it.  
  
Another hour of tossing and turning and Regina sits up, letting out an annoyed laugh as she looks over at Emma, quietly snoring…another thing she isn’t used to, noise. She looks around the dark room, tired and frustrated and she doesn’t know what to do.  
  
She gets up, pacing the space between the beds and that’s when she sees it…a small little space between the couch against the wall and the headboard of Emma’s designated bed…it calls to her and so she quietly moves towards it, curling herself in as small a ball as she could, finding comfort in the hard press of the floor in her side and her bent arm as a pillow…it was weird, but she almost misses her lumpy hard bed from the facility.  
  
 

* * *

  
  
Emma wakes up hours later to quiet whimpering, her sleep addled mind forgetting where she was so for a moment she thought the sound was her neighbour’s dog before yesterday’s events came slamming back to her and the whimpering that was once an annoyance was now making fear rise within her as she shoots up in…Regina’s bed, _smooth move, Swan…you were supposed to stay with her until she fell asleep not fall asleep staring at her.  
_  
Emma looks around the room, panic more prevalent when she didn’t find the girl in the bed across from hers, “Regina?” Emma whispers, slowly crawling to the end of the bed, looking toward the bathroom, “R’gina, you okay?” she squints her eyes and that’s when she notices the bathroom door was open and the light was off and that the whimpering was much closer. “Reg–” her eyes caught sight of a small figure in white in the corner of the room, the rising sun letting in just enough light to make it out.  
  
Emma slips from the bed slowly, her heart breaking as she now stands over Regina, her knees pressed up tightly to her chest, one arm wrapped around them, her jagged nails digging into her skin and her other arm under her head, her hand tangled in her hair as she shivers and whimpers. “What did they do to you?” Emma breathes, moving to pull a thin blanket from the bed Emma was just lying in and drapes it over her soulmate, careful not to touch her.  
  
Emma sighs, moving to curl up on the couch, wrapping the blanket from the empty bed around her and quietly she starts humming a tune Ingrid used to sing when Emma had nightmares, slowly Regina’s whimpers stop and Emma considers that a victory…although this no touching thing was a pain in her ass when all her instincts begged her to gather Regina in her arms and protect her from the world.  
  
 

* * *

  
  
Emma wakes up when she feels eyes on her, looking over at Regina who was leaning against the bedframe, blanket wrapped securely around her, watching Emma curiously.  
  
“I woke up in the middle of the night and you were having a nightmare…I wanted to stay close.” Regina’s lips purse as her eyes rake over Emma, following along her hand that was dangling over the side of the couch…close to where Regina’s head was. “Did I?”  
  
Regina slowly shakes her head, Emma noticing their matching eyes making the momentary anxiety rush out of her as Regina pulls her lip between her teeth as her eyes look around the room again.  
  
“You okay?” Regina nods, actions sluggish, “you don’t seem it.”  
  
Regina sighs, looking back toward Emma their eyes locking and Emma could see so many mixed emotions flash through their mirrored eyes.  
  
**“I woke up,”** Emma’s head whips around when she hears the robotic voice sound from across the room before shooting back to look at Regina, **“and forgot I was free and suddenly it all came flooding back to me and I do not know how to process everything I am feeling.”  
**  
“I had that feeling last night…” Emma sighs, “It’s gonna take time to adjust, it always does but soon enough it’ll feel normal.”  
  
Regina nods slowly, **“I couldn’t sleep in the bed, it was too soft…I found myself missing my cell.”  
**  
Emma sits up, slowly lowering herself on the floor, blanket wrapped snugly around her just like Regina, “That’s normal…it’s all you’ve known since you were a kid…it’s a fucked up version of home.”  
  
Regina’s lips contorted in a frown, eyes moving from Emma’s, **“It is indeed, fucked up…”  
**  
Emma smiles softly, “I’m here for you though…we all are. I’m sure Mulan and even Henry are experiencing something similar…you should talk to them.” Regina arches a brow at her, “Hey, with that computer of yours it’s practically talking…and when you’re ready we can slowly work on you talking freely again…it just…it’ll take time, Regina, and I’m here for you, always.”  
  
Regina’s face shifts quickly, it is amazing how it could change with something as simple as a smile and yet, Emma has never seen something so perfect as the way Regina was looking at her with love and appreciation written all over her face. “You’re truly magnificent…I’ve never seen a smile so gorgeous in my life…I’ve never seen love like that directed at me before either…”  
  
Regina blushes quickly, eyes dropping and her smile fading as she pulls her lip nervously between her teeth while her hand rises to scratch at her temple.  
  
“What do you say today we get someone to help you fix your nails, those jagged things can’t be comfortable?” Emma frowns suddenly, running over Regina’s blanket covered body, “Did you hurt yourself while you slept?” Regina pulls her legs in tighter, “Hey, no judgment…I just…I’ll get Mary Margaret to get you something to clean the cuts…or whatever…”  
  
Regina looks back up at her, smiling softly at the kindness shown to her, **“Okay…thank you, Emma.”**  
  
“No problem.” Emma smiles just as softly back before they sit in silence for a few moments longer. “How long have you been up for?”  
  
**“Since the sun rose.”  
**  
Emma frowns, remembering the sun already rising when Regina’s nightmare woke her not long ago, “Did you get enough sleep?”  
  
Regina shrugs, pulling the blanket closer to her, **“Yes. I’ve never gotten much sleep, last night was no different…”  
**  
“You always get nightmares?”  
  
Regina shrugs again, picking at the scar on her right temple again, **“Not every night…sometimes I’m lucky and I don’t get any dreams at all…and sometimes I even get to dream of you.”  
**  
Emma blushes slightly, “So like when you would dream about me what would they be about?”  
  
Regina blinks at her slowly, **“Usually you were either breaking me out or sometimes we would be curled up on your couch watching that idiotic comedy you love so much…you’ve always just been my safe space, any glimpse of you was relaxing honestly.”  
**  
“Did you start seeing through my eyes when you got taken at 10 or before?” Regina looks at her confused by the sudden topic change, “I just…I wanna understand like did you only know me by my reflection…and just,” Emma looks away, staring at the glowing screen of the computer across the room that Regina is using to talk, “You’re the only person I know that watched me grow up…who like has always known me and loved me even if I’m a total fucking disaster.”  
  
Regina smiles softly then, searching out Emma’s eyes as the computer starts speaking, **“It wasn’t as common when it first started, I was ten when I really noticed it but my whole life up until that point I had memories of things I didn’t do…I once spent hours looking for a puppy drawing I was sure I made before I just assumed mother threw it away. But when I turned ten everything became clearer and more often, it went from flashes of your life to me seeing you for the first time and seeing your life as it transpired…it was everything I imagined a life as a normal kid would be.”  
**  
Emma chuckles slightly, “I wouldn’t call my life normal.”  
  
**“Compared to mine it was pretty normal.”  
**  
“Even at ten?”  
  
Regina sighs, hugging her legs to her chest as she turns to face the laptop, **“My mother didn’t just suddenly turn into someone who would lock up and torture her own child…it wasn’t like a switch was flipped, Emma. She always looked at me with disgust, I never saw love in her eyes or felt safe in her arms…she had this way of acting, of looking at me like I’d done something to ruin her life and she often took that anger out on me when I didn’t live up to the unreachable standards she set for me. I was never enough for her, just because I have a soulmate and she doesn’t…and when my abilities surfaced, well barely an hour after I told her men in white clothes were scooping me up and violently yanking me from my father’s arms, I felt his shirt tear in my hands and I still remember the bruises from where he held on so tight and the doctors pulled harder.”** Tears fell from Regina’s eyes, **“I can barely remember his face or his voice but I remember the way the room quivered around me as I wailed and fought…I still remember how sore my throat was when I woke up in my cell hours later. I remember the first time they shot electric currents through my body…I can remember everything bad, but I can’t remember my father’s smile. When I say you were the only good in my life, I mean it literally, Emma…if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here…I wouldn’t be alive.”  
**  
Emma watches her quietly the whole time the computer spoke the heartbreaking words. Her heart cracking in her chest and tears soaking her cheeks the moment she sees tears fall from Regina’s eyes, “If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have ever had to go through that…you would have just had a normal life.”  
  
Regina looks at her, eyes wide and almost angry, **“No! I wouldn’t trade you for anything! You carry half my soul with you, I wouldn’t trade having someone who understands me completely for a mediocre life.”  
**  
“You don’t know that…it could have been amazing.”  
  
“No.”  
  
Emma’s eyes widen at the gravelly tone that meets her ears, one word, definitive, sure and angry, and in her eyes, so sure of everything, Emma also saw a fire, like Regina would go to war to make Emma understand she would do anything, go through anything to prove Emma was worth it all, that she wouldn’t change a thing…that one word leaving Regina’s mouth, said so much to Emma that she couldn’t even process it all, couldn’t look away from the assertive eyes staring back at her.  
  
**“Nothing is worth losing you.”**  
  
Emma feels her tears falling again, because looking into Regina’s eyes, it always makes her feel loved, love she can’t understand or process, love she’s never felt before, love she never saw directed her way before. Looking at Regina, being near Regina…well for the first time in her whole life Emma feels like she found home.  
  
“Okay,” Emma breathes, nodding slowly, “Okay.”  
  
Regina’s features soften, her head tilting as she takes in all of Emma, trying to understand what she was feeling, what it all meant, **“You’re sad? Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, Emma…I promise I’ll be better next time.”  
**  
Emma blinks, “What, no, Regina, you didn’t do anything wrong! I’m not upset at you…I’m not sad…I mean not really…” she sighs, wiping away her tears and wishing once more she could reach out and touch her, “Regina, these are mostly happy tears because I’ve never…gosh, I wouldn’t trade anything either…”  
  
Regina’s smile softens again quickly, **“First time I really saw you was when you were brushing your teeth before school, you locked eyes with yourself in the mirror and made this tough face, like you were daring your reflection to fight back…I loved you instantly.”  
**  
Emma chuckles, “I was an odd kid.”  
  
**“You were a wonderful child, Emma…you still are wonderful…”** Regina smirks suddenly and Emma feels like what is about to be said next will make her want to hide away forever, **“Do you remember how excited you were when your breasts came in? I didn’t understand what was happening, why you were dancing and so excited until I saw you looking at them in the mirror for months after that day.”  
**  
Emma went bright red, she’s sure she discovered a new shade in that moment because she really never thought anyone would have witnessed that moment and yet she found herself suddenly hating that floor length mirror in her old room so much in that moment.  
  
“Yeah, well they didn’t grow much after that so…”  
  
**“You have wonderful breasts, Emma.”** Emma looks up at her in shock, she definitely invented a new shade now. **“Did I say something wrong again?”  
**  
Emma slowly shakes her head, looking everywhere but at Regina, “So uh, this seeing through my eyes thing…um, should I…” Emma clears her throat, looking down at her hands, “You ever pop in at wrong moments?”  
  
It was Regina’s turn to blush, **“There was one time, you were in the shower, I didn’t see anything though but I got the fright of my life!”  
**  
“That all? You telling me in 12 years you only accidentally popped in on me in the shower once?”  
  
Regina snickers, shrugging slightly, **“I’m sure there were other moments but if I went looking for you and I saw anything I knew you wouldn’t want me to see, I would go away for a few minutes before returning.”  
**  
“Right…we will come back to this later when you’re less worried about sounding like a creep.” Regina rolls her eyes and Emma feels proud that she seems less sad and lost than she did when she first woke up, “you hungry? I could definitely go for some food!”  
  
Regina shrugs, not used to having food constantly at the ready…she is so used to how life once was that she is sure it will take some adjusting before she is really hungry, let alone able to eat more than the small amounts of food she’s been able to have at a time.  
  
“You don’t have to eat a whole English breakfast or some shit, you can like just have some fruit or whatever…but you should eat something.”  
  
Regina nods, watching as Emma uses the sofa behind her as leverage to pull herself up to her feet before she looks down at Regina, watching her intently.  
  
“I’ll be right there, I just need to change.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
Regina watches her slowly go, stopping at the door to look back at Regina unsurely as their connection fought the separation, Regina was almost sure her heart was about to be pulled from her chest and leave with Emma.


	4. Chapter 4

As days passed Regina found certain things easier and other things not so much…Emma was always easy but being able to actually communicate with her was unusual, and Regina was constantly reminded that now when she looked through Emma’s eyes she usually saw herself which was just plain odd.

David and Mary Margaret were always friendly, doting over them constantly, Mary Margaret went shopping for them the other day…then Merida went shopping for them because even Regina refused to wear the monstrosities the woman brought back! She’d rather wear her old torn dress from the facility then the pastel cardigans and floral skirts she brought back.

Jeans were weird, they’ve changed since she was a kid, much tighter but Emma seems to like them on her so she wears them almost as much as the yoga pants. Emma is still partial to her usual jeans and tank tops but Regina’s basically just been trying everything out, Mary Margaret and Merida even let her raid their closets to help her “discover herself” although she’s still mortified by the talk she had with Mulan about bras…she doesn’t like those things, they hurt.

“New look today?” Emma asks and Regina looks up to see Emma smirking at her from her bed, resting kindle in her lap.

Regina nods, gesturing to the button up shirt she found buried in the back of Mary Margaret’s closet, it was a simple light blue.

“I like it,” Emma smiles, letting her eyes run over Regina’s body, “You should tuck it in, it would look hot.”

Regina’s eyes widen and a blush spreads over her cheeks but she does just that popping the button on her very tight jeans to tuck the shirt in, when suddenly she gets slammed with a distant image of herself…or better yet her hands in her pants, her eyes slowly rise again to see Emma gazing at her with glassy eyes and her lip between her teeth. **“Really, Emma?”**

Emma’s eyes shoot up to hers and she blushes scarlet red, “I just…I was making sure you did it right.”

Regina hums, turning to look at herself in the newly added floor length mirror.

“You should roll up the sleeves, they’re a little long on you so it’ll look better.”

Regina looks at Emma in the reflection behind her, watching her so intently, **“How do I? The sleeves are too tight.”**

Emma smiles softly at her while scooting to the edge of her bed and sitting cross legged, “Undo the buttons on the cuffs then just roll the fabric until about your elbows.”

Regina’s focus drops to her arms, working carefully all while trying to ignore the feeling of Emma’s eyes still on her.

“I think this look is my favourite.” Emma hums, Regina looking up to see Emma’s chin resting in her palm as she gazes dreamily at her, “But that might just be my teacher kink…oh my god! Okay, we gotta get Mary Margaret to get you a pencil skirt! Your ass would loo–” Emma stops talking when Regina turns around to look at her, a brow raised incredulously, “Right…um ignore that I’m just thinking out loud…”

Regina smirks at her before turning back to the mirror as she goes to roll up the other sleeve, closing her eyes and she can’t help the evil chuckle that forces its way out of her throat when she catches Emma staring at her ass, seriously Regina’s laugh didn’t have Emma snapping out of it for nearly 30 whole seconds.

Emma’s eyes leave her ass and Regina turns her head just as Emma’s eyes reach the back of it to send her a sly smirk, **“I think I know why you like this look.”**

Emma blushes, “Oh shut up! So I think you ass is amazing! Sue me! But your tits are also the bomb!”

Regina blushes too suddenly, her smirk fading as the blush grew until she looks away from Emma, running her hands over the shirt to remove any wrinkles.

“Right…I’m just gonna shut up and go back to reading my book…”

**“I’m going to my lessons.”**

“Right…um, kick ass or whatever it is you do!”

Regina offers her an awkward smile, **“See you at lunch?”**

“Wouldn’t miss it!”

Regina nods slowly, picking the computer off the bedside table before walking out the door and down the hall, finding Mary Margaret sitting at the bar going over paperwork, **“Can you buy me a pencil skirt and more shirts like this?”**

Mary Margaret looks at her a grin stretching across her face, “Pencil skirt, huh? Emma tell you about them?”

Regina blushes faintly again as she nods, **“I like these shirts though and I would like to try out this teacher kink look.”**

Mary Margaret starts coughing, eyes wide, “It’s not…oh Regina…kink is…you know what, I’ll get you the skirt but you can talk with Mulan or Merida about kinks…or better yet, Emma.”

Regina frowns, suddenly very confused but she nods before continuing to the back room where David likes to have her and Henry train…she likes training with David. He’s much nicer than they were at the facility and the training here has mostly been about control, and sensing things around them. Henry usually misses those lessons, still so young that David and Mary Margaret set up a tutor for him that he video chats with…Regina’s realized in this last week that the underground’s connections are far and wide and there’s really no limits to things they can do.

“Good morning, Regina!” David calls, moving a few things around in the room, his eyes shut.

**“Hello.”**

A smile twitches on his lips, “Take a seat, we’re still waiting on Henry.”

Regina sits on the chair that moves towards her, smiling softly at the man, **“I think I said something wrong to Mary Margaret.”**

“Oh?”

**“Yes, but I’ve been told I should only talk about it with Emma, Mulan, or Merida.”**

“Why not me?”

Regina shrugs, **“What’s a kink?”** The table David is moving comes to a sudden stop and he snaps his eyes open to look at her, mouth opening and closing a few times, **“That’s similar to Mary Margaret’s reaction.”**

David lets out an awkward laugh, dropping into a chair just as it slides under him, running his hands through his short cropped hair, “I bet…”

**“She was right, I shouldn’t have asked you. I apologize.”**

“No, no…it’s alright…” David sighs, looking up at Regina, “I’m going to guess you never got _the talk_ in the facility.”

**“The talk?”**

David chuckles, “Sex talk…where babies come from, all that.”

Regina scuffs, rolling her eyes at him, **“I know where babies come from, David. I was ten when I was taken not five.”**

“Well that’s good to know…but uh a kink is something someone finds sexually alluring…something they’re attracted to.”

**“So a teacher kink is being sexually attracted to a teacher?”**

David turns a faint shade of red, scratching at his stubble, “Uh, yeah, or someone dressed as a teacher…”

 **“Okay. Thank you.”** Regina nods, closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair.

“That’s all?”

**“I imagine all my other questions would be best brought up to Emma.”**

“Right…” David sighs, slapping his hands on his thighs awkwardly before he asks, “And how is that…um, going?”

**“What do you mean?”**

“I mean there must be a reason you were asking about kinks.”

**“Emma said my ass would look great in a pencil skirt.”**

“Right…so I take it it’s going well then…”

Regina opens her eyes to look at him, smiling softly, **“As you can see we haven’t touched yet so there’s no need to be all weird about it.”**

“That’s not the only thing that matters…I’m curious what it’s been like, living together, being around her every day?”

Regina smiles this dopey expression that tells David really all he needs to know but he still watches her patiently as he waits for her response.

**“It’s nice…still awkward at times for sure but I’ve finally gotten used to her snoring, however sleeping in the bed is still a work in progress but otherwise it’s just very nice.”**

David chuckles, standing up from his chair, “Yeah, that’s never something they prepare you for…would be nice if you could also hear through their ears so you could be prepared to listen to those angry bear, dying truck noises they make while they sleep,” he mutters as he manually picks up the chair, walking it back to the corner of the room.

**“Hers aren’t that loud but compared to the silence of the facility…well it kept me up for a few nights.”**

“And the bed being too soft?”

**“Yes, I still sleep most nights on the couch…”**

“Not the floor anymore?”

**“No, it worried Emma too much and the couch is a happy medium.”**

“Also being closer to Emma probably doesn’t hurt either.”

Regina smiles shyly about to respond when Henry comes barrelling into the room.

“Sorry I’m late! I overslept!” He calls out, high fiving David as he passes him before turning to look at Regina and running toward her to hug her tightly, “Good morning, Regina!”

**“Good morning, Henry.”**

He pulls back, grinning widely at her, “Well, you guys ready to get started!?”

“Yup!” David answers, grinning at them both as Henry pulls her quickly to her feet.

**“I’m ready as well.”**

Henry smiles widely at her, “You look pretty today, Regina.”

She softens instantly, pulling him into her side and holding him close for a second before nudging him toward David…Henry was easy too, but in a different way than Emma was, because sometimes Emma was hard, but Henry was always the sweetest.

 

* * *

 

 

“How was training?” Emma asks when Regina walks into the lounging area for lunch.

She shrugs in response, dropping into the booth across from Emma and pulling her legs up onto the bench, **“Alright, Henry did very good…I could use some food and a gallon of water now though.”**

“David working you to the bone?” Emma asks before pushing her plate of fries towards Regina getting a grateful smile in return.

**“Henry accidentally broke the AC in the training room.”**

“Wow! That sucks! Oh I know! We can go sit in a cool bath and chill for the rest of the afternoon!” Regina arches a brow at her, “Get your mind out of the gutter, Mills! We would be wearing underwear!” her other eyebrow joins the other one high on her head, “Also I may have found a giant Jacuzzi bath in one of the empty rooms so we don’t gotta worry about accidentally touching!”

Regina smirks at her before popping a fry in her mouth, still saying nothing.

“It’s not like we can go swimming! Just nevermind…bad idea.”

**“I suppose I will have to wear a bra for this?”**

“Yeah I mean aren’t you al–” Emma’s eyes drop to Regina’s chest and the buttons that were done up less than when she left the room this morning and gulps, “ready?”

Regina smirks, **“My eyes are up here, Swan.”**

“I know…it’s just…intriguing.” Regina chuckles, throwing a fry at Emma and laughing at the shocked expression that slowly registers on her face before she looks up at Regina and glares, “Hey! Food isn’t for throwing!” She scolds all while throwing the fry back at Regina and then watching it soar…right into her shirt.

Regina gasps, glaring up at her, **“You did that on purpose!”**

“Trust me, even _my_ aim isn’t that spot on.” Emma’s eyes did not leave her breasts again.

Regina rolls her eyes, looking around before reaching into her shirt to pull out the offending fry, a button popping and… _oh my god she is not wearing a bra!_

Regina follows Emma’s eyes to her chest and blushes violently as she sees the button has opened.

“I um, you wanna do a girl a favour and fix that? Cause you’re killing me right now.”

**“Idiot.”**

Emma smirks, looking away from her chest to offer her a goofy grin and doey eyes.

Regina smiles back, shaking her head at her before fixing the buttons on her shirt, **“I’m going to go get some water.”**

“No, stay, I’ll get it, you eat.”

**“Thank you, Emma.”**

Emma sends her another wide grin before sliding out of the booth and rushing through the doors that lead to the kitchen, Regina hearing a loud, “Hey! Watch it, Swan!” from the kitchen staff followed by Emma’s scream of sorry in response.

Regina shakes her head at Emma again before focusing on the plate of fries, a soft smile slowly curling on her face.

 

* * *

 

 

**“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this”**

Emma looks over at her, “Why do I get the feeling you’re talking about wearing a bra and not the sitting in a cool bath drinking iced tea with music playing the greatest hits in the background?” Smirking as Regina pulls uncomfortably at her bra.

**“How do you wear these things every day?!”**

Emma shrugs, taking a sip of her nice, cool drink, “I’ve gotten used to it I guess…but it’s not exactly like I love it, I don’t wake up every day like ‘yes I get to wear a bra again!’ it’s more like I go to bed every night like, ‘yes I get to take off my bra again!’”

Regina smirks at her, **“Yes, I’m still amazed at how you whipped it off without removing your top.”**

“I’ll show you how to do it sometime.”

**“I look forward to it, darling.”**

Emma looks over at her with her sly smirk and can’t help but chuckle, “You know that would prob be hotter if it wasn’t coming from that creepy ass computer voice…you think there’s ways we can mess with the settings, make her sound less…I dunno…monotone?”

**“Don’t ask me, I’ve been locked up in a stone room for 12 years.”**

“Were locked up.”

**“Cause that’s the most important thing about that sentence.”**

Emma smirks at her, reclining against the back of the tub, “Just shut up and drink your tea and like relax.”

**“How am I supposed to relax when you’re looking at me like that?”**

Emma looks up at Regina to see her eyes closed and a smirk on her face, “How do you know what I’m looking at you like, your eyes are clo–ah fuck me, seriously, you’re looking through my eyes right now?!”

Regina lets out a dark chuckle, shrugging in response before the computer voices her very simple response of, **“What? It’s how I’ve always relaxed.”**

“Right…um, sorry…”

Regina shrugs again, taking a sip of her iced tea and letting out a low hum, **“You can ask if you like.”**

“No, it’s okay…I don’t want you to think about that, we’re supposed to be relaxing.”

**“Alright, your choice, but if you want to ever ask how I got my scars, know that you can.”**

Emma nods, closing her eyes as she listens to the music to take her mind off the many scars across Regina’s body, just focusing on enjoying the feel of Regina’s energy humming against her skin, that strong pull making it feel like Regina was pressed against her side.

It was nice and after they get used to everything and really settle down it was a very relaxing time, so relaxing that when they return to their rooms to change into dry clothes Emma finds Regina passed out on the bed when she exits their bathroom…Emma’s pretty sure she’s never seen Regina sleep so soundly before and especially not in her bed…no wait, in Emma’s bed.

Emma smiles to herself, picking her tablet up from the nightstand and moving to the other side of the bed as she goes back to reading, listening intently to Regina’s deep breaths.

 

* * *

 

Emma gets so invested in her book she doesn’t notice how much time has passed until the room is cast in an orange hue from the setting sun. And it's only a few seconds later when she hears the small whimper leave Regina’s throat. A quick glance down at her tells Emma all she needs to know, the furrowed brows and deep pout alerting her to another one of Regina’s nightmares.

“Regina, its okay, you’re safe.” Emma whispers, continuing to watch the girl, worry growing when Regina’s arm twitches and Emma nearly throws herself off the bed in fear of them accidentally touching. “Regina?” Emma rushes, moving to the other side of the bed to hesitantly look down at her, jumping when her tiny curled up form twitches again before she flips on her back a pained sound leaving her mouth. “Fuck, R’gina…you like need to wake up!”

Emma looks around the empty and quickly darkening room, her eyes wide in panic as she rushes to flick on a light hoping to wake her, but as Regina’s body arches off the bed the lights start flickering and the air in the room gets thick, an almost electric energy filling it and making Emma’s hair stick up from the static electricity. “Regina.”

She whimpers again head moving this way and that, her hands clutching the comforter under her. “Fuck fuck fuck…”  Emma hisses rushing back towards the bed, hands trying to smooth down her own hair anxiously. “Regina-please wake up!”

 **“Stop!”** The computer blasts full volume and Emma spins to stare at the lit up screen, the only stable light in the room.

“Regina you’re just dreaming! It’s not real!”

Regina’s body falls back to the bed, she is totally still for what has to be a minute and Emma starts to relax before she realizes her hair’s still sticking up and the air still feels like she's trying to breathe with a blanket over her head. “R’gina?” Emma shuffles closer so her thighs hit the edge of the bed, Regina’s breaths panting before she whimpers again, and the room starts to quiver, a light bulb bursts in one of the lamps before Regina starts thrashing around on the bed once more, another light bursts and then her body arches high off the bed as an agonizing scream leaves her mouth. Emma's heart drops to the pit of her stomach, screaming Regina’s name in panic. She’s stepping away to get help when the computer yells again.

**“Stop, it hurts! I’ll be good, I promise! Mother, please! I’ll be good!”**

Emma freezes at the door, staring with tear-filled eyes before the last light in the room bursts and Emma turns on her heels rushing out of the room heading at full speed out of their hallway into the main room, eyes scanning the area for anybody, “help!” She yells at the top of her lungs, running toward the training room. “David!? Mulan?! Anyone?! Please!”

The hair on the back of Emma’s neck stands up again and she spins on her heels to where she knows their room is, can feel an ache in her muscles and that pull to Regina yanking violently at her chest, “Please! Something is wrong with Regina!” Emma yells as she runs down the hall smashing right into David who just stepped out of one of the rooms. “David! Please, Regina needs help!”

“What's wrong?”

“You can’t feel it?!” Emma yelps, “She’s like having a seizure or something! Please just c’mon!” Emma yells grabbing his arm and tugging him through the halls, the man quickly running next to her.

“What do you mean a seizure?!”

Emma looks up at him, “it might not be...just, you’ll see when we get there!” She practically whines, tugging him faster across the main room.

When they finally get to the room they both stop just at the door as a loud scream blasts out, “Help her!”

David blinks, frozen in place for a moment longer before he rushes through the door. The computer is the only source of light in the whole room  and it gives Regina’s thrashing body an eerie glow as it casts  ominous shadows across the wall.

“Jesus Christ,” David hisses rushing toward Regina, his hands hovering over her body for a second before he takes a step back, unsure what he can do as he looks down at the pain reflected on her face as the light hits it.

“David! Do something!”

“I don’t…I don’t know what to do…I don’t want to hurt her.”

Emma looks at him with pleading eyes but her expression slowly softens when she sees the actual fear on his face, “Haven’t you seen this before?”

He slowly shakes his head, stepping forward to look down at Regina’s now still body. “We don’t get anyone from the facility…especially people who have been in there as long as she has…” He turns to look at Emma with tears in his own eyes.

Emma wipes at her cheeks before rushing to the other side of the bed, “Can’t you just wake her up?”

“I don’t know if that will do more damage…it’s like her own body is electrocuting her.”

Emma looks up at him with wide eyes, “Then that’s more reason to fucking wake her up! If you won’t I’ll-I’ll…”

“I know how hard this must be…” He sighs looking down at Regina. Emma figured he felt the prickling in his skin too, while Emma could feel the tingle of electricity flowing through her, again. When David opens his mouth as if to say something else, Regina’s back arches up once more, an agonizing whimper leaving her mouth. Emma’s eyes shoot up to look at David when a heartbreaking scream leaves Regina’s mouth. Emma can’t help but to be exasperated, at David when he doesn’t quite seem to be grasping the situation, he is just looking back at her confused, , curiously even, he definitely doesn’t seem to get the sheer terror Regina is expressing, even when all Emma can hear is her painful screams, David barely seems fazed.

“Don’t you hear that!? She’s in pain! You need to help her!” Emma shouts over Regina’s screams, frowning deeply as she looks down at her pained expression.

David’s brows furrow, “What do you mean? She’s not making any noise.”

Emma’s head shoots up to look at him again, “She’s screaming!”

“It must be your connection.” He concludes, looking back down at Regina, finally recognizing the urgency, while Emma slides her hand across the bed as close as she dares to Regina hoping to give her some comfort.

**“Help! Please! Stop!”**

“See! She wants help!” Emma screeches in response to Regina as David stares at the computer with wide eyes, one of the lights in the hall offering a steady stream of illumination flickers and David looks back at Emma in panic. Regina’s body slumps down frighteningly still again. “Please…I can’t do it…you know if I could I would but I can’t so it’s up to you…she trusts you! Don’t let her down like everyone else has!”

David’s eyes fall to her, sad and scared and Emma sees a flash of affection, the way a parent might look at their child, before it gets buried by fear again, “Okay, just I don’t know what’s going to happen so be prepared.”

Emma nods, “Regina, it’s going to be okay. I’m here, David is here and we’re gonna help you.”

“It’s okay, mija, it will all be okay,” David soothes, hand moving to push damp hair from Regina’s forehead and Emma can feel the air change almost instantly. The space around them freezes and Emma’s scared it might worsen, but then the air starts to simmer, the electricity in it slowly fading as David gently runs his knuckles against her temple, “It’s okay, Princesa, you’re safe, Cora can’t hurt you anymore.”

Emma doesn’t understand, he’s talking to her like a father, talking to her like he knows this is how her father would have spoken to her…but how could he know?

“Daddy?” Regina’s hoarse voice mumbles in her sleep, leaning toward David’s hand.

“Shhh, you’re safe, you’re just having a nightmare, Princesa.”

Regina whimpers, turning on her side and curling up like a toddler; David’s hand knocked away from her head as she turns toward him, close to the edge of the bed.

“You’re okay, mija,” David says tucking her hair behind her ear before placing a calming hand on her shoulder, “You’re safe.”

“How are you doing that?”

David’s eyes shoot up to Emma’s and he smiles faintly, “I met her father after she was taken…he called her mija and Princesa. I was hoping that was still her safe place besides you.”

Emma nods, “I wish I could hold her.”

David smiles softly at Emma, she sees that similar affection in his eyes reflected at her, “Crawl back in bed and just lay as close as you can without the risk of her rolling over and touching you…I used to do that with Mary Margaret when we first met.”

“You didn’t touch right away, either?” Emma asks as she lays on her side by Regina, sliding her hand over the covers again so it was a few feet away from Regina’s back.

 **“Emma…”** Emma smiles at the soft sound of the computers voice, finally relaxing again.

“We only lasted a week, but we were teenagers at the time so it’s a miracle we lasted that long.”

Emma smiles softly at him, wishing she could see Regina’s face, hold her close to her body and protect her from the world.

“She’ll be ready soon. She’s been through a lot, conditioned to fear her own abilities, just give her time to fully understand them outside of the Tentoria’s tests.”

“I know, I’ll wait forever if it’s what she wants.”

Regina turns suddenly to face Emma, face now relaxed in sleep but Emma holds her breath as she watches her, watches as her hand slowly slides towards Emma and stops just before they touch, like she can sense it.

“Can she see through my eyes in her sleep?”

David smiles, “It happens sometimes, when they need comfort (especially with what Regina’s been through) she will look for you, she probably started doing it years ago.”

Emma watches Regina’s face, finds comfort in the soft slope of her nose, “If she was looking through my eyes while I was dreaming could that be the reason I used to see glimpses of her?”

David hums, moving to sit on the couch by the window, “Could be. This isn’t really science, some things are different for different people. Mine and Mary Margaret’s experience is completely different than yours and Regina’s which results in a different connection…as an Aberrant your souls are the ones communicating and they offer each other everything they need to feel safe. To know they’re there…they can sense moods, as you already know, see their soulmate’s life through their eyes, and when you’re finally near, the connection starts to build and pull, it starts to form in a way unlike any other, unique to each pair of soulmates.” David sighs, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees as he continues with a furrowed brow, “But, honestly Emma I’ve never seen two people fight their connection this long before so things are going to happen that I might not understand.”

“Okay…but thanks for explaining…”

“Anytime, kiddo.”

Emma rolls her eyes, looking toward his voice before looking back at Regina, “I want to stay here with her but I’m worried I will fall asleep and unintentionally touch her.”

“I can stay here, watch over you both. Mary Margaret has a graveyard shift anyway so I won’t be getting much sleep.”

“Okay…just like keep me talking and if I fall asleep slap me.”

David laughs, “Yes, and since you snore it won’t be a guessing game!”

“Regina told you?”

“Of course, she’s lucky though…Mary Margaret snores like a wild beast.”

Emma chuckles, “So that’s what that noise was the other night?”

“Mmhmm.”

Emma sighs, searching Regina’s face wondering if maybe there was a way to be there for her, if there was some weird loophole, but the only way to find out would be trying, and that could end with Regina’s full powers being activated so that’s pretty much off the table…

“It’s going to be okay, it’s only been a little over a week.”

“I know…” Emma breathes, trying to not focus on the scar on Regina’s temple or the one on her forehead…or her upper lip even though that one was intriguing in a totally inappropriate way. But while she might be fascinated by the woman’s scars, Regina seems to be self-conscious about them…it’s probably how her nervous tick started. So Emma moves her eyes to stare at their hands which are so close together, she lets herself imagine linking their fingers together…lets herself revel in the warmth and hum coming from Regina’s body, lets herself take comfort in the soft pull. It’s not tugging, it’s just there barely making itself known, it is not restricting, Emma likes how it’s become almost comforting lately, because when she feels it, it means Regina is still around…it means she’s still here and that’s the most comforting thing Emma has ever known. It’s all she really needs.  


* * *

  
  
Regina wakes up slowly, the first thing she sees is the mirrored reflection of her own eyes and it takes her a moment to realize it’s because Emma is laying across from her.

“Morning,” Emma hums, smiling sleepily.

**“Did we fall asleep together?”**

Emma shakes her head, “No, you had a nightmare so we’ve just been sticking by you all night.”

**“We?”**

“Good morning, Regina,” David’s voice meets her ears and Regina rolls over to look at the man lounging back on the couch, “how are you feeling?”

 **“Fine?”** She’s pretty sure she is…she doesn’t feel different…or maybe she does…this heaviness in her muscles and tingling in her veins is just so normal to her that it takes her a moment to realize she shouldn’t actually be feeling it, should she? “ **What day is it today?”**

David frowns, “I believe it's Friday now.”

Regina nods, sitting up frowning shyly over at Emma before she starts fiddling with her hands in her lap, **“Did I have this nightmare yesterday evening?”**

“Yeah, what’s that gotta do with it?” Emma asks, worry and confusion evident in her voice.

 **“Every Thursday evening for 12 years I would be subjected to electroshock therapy,”** Regina glances uncomfortably over at Emma, watching that deep frown on her usually soft features and anger flash in her eyes. Regina knows the anger isn’t directed at her; she knows it because she’s seen it before when Regina talks about Mother or the facility, she knows it by the way Emma’s hands clench into fists at her sides.

“Of course, your body was just remembering something that became routine and your powers reacted to the memory in a physical way…” David states, nodding as he stands from the couch, looking at Emma before nodding to himself, “I’ll leave you ladies to talk. Regina, why don’t you take today to rest. You and Emma should have some fun, training can wait until Monday. You deserve some rest.”

**“I enjoy training.”**

David offers her a kind smile, “I know Regina, but you still have so much to get caught up on…which Emma keeps reminding me by complaining about how deprived you are of pop culture references.”

Regina nods, glancing over at Emma who was smiling sheepishly at her, **“Alright.”**

David grins at her, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, “Next week will be fun. Mulan and Merida will be teaching both of you hand-to-hand combat!”

Emma’s smile was radiant. It made Regina smile just as big because she’s never seen someone so excited in her life. She couldn’t understand why Emma was bouncing with excitement or why her smile took up her whole face, she looks as excited as a kid on Christmas morning…that is the proper saying, right?

“See you. Emma, you should probably get some sleep before you keel over though,” David grins and Regina glances back at Emma just in time to see that smile stretch into a massive yawn.

“Bye, David. You should get some sleep, too.”

He waves, walking out of the room. Closing the door almost completely behind him when he stops, peeking his head back into the room, “I’ll fix the lights this afternoon.”

“Thanks!” Emma calls after him just before the door closes. She turns to Regina with a kind smile, “You blew them all out last night…”

Regina frowns, **“Did I?”**

“Yeah, but it’s okay, just some light bulbs need changing.” Emma yawns again, flopping back down on the bed, grinning up at Regina.

**“You’re tired.”**

“Yes. Aren't you?”

Regina shrugs, looking around the room, **“Why do I vaguely recall David calling me Princesa?”**

Emma chuckles, “He called you that to calm you down…it did wonders!”

 _Oh_ , Regina mouths, glancing around the room, **“I’ll move to the other bed so you can get some rest.”**

“I wish we could be sure a pillow wall was enough to keep us from accidentally touching…”

Regina smiles softly at her before sliding from the bed, **“I know. But I’ll just be across the room.”**

“I know…” Emma yawns again, shuffling until her face was buried in Regina’s pillow, cuddling it close to her. “I just like how it feels when you’re closer.”

 **“Me too.”** Regina responds as she climbs onto her bed, looking up to find Emma fast asleep, a small snore cementing her assumption a few minutes later making Regina gaze fondly at her. “Sweet dreams, Emma,” Regina whispers, hand moving to her throat a moment later when she notices for the first time how raw it felt. W _eird_.

 

* * *

 

 

Emma and Henry are bent over with laughter, nearly toppling over as it rips out of them, and all Regina can do is glare up at them from where she is splayed across the electric blue mat. She can lift anything with her mind like it is nothing, but actually working out was never an important part of her training in the facility - so her ineptitude isn’t exactly her fault!

“Are you okay, Regina?” Merida’s accented voice filters through the laughter and she glances over to the woman as she gives her a once over.

**“Peachy.”**

Merida holds out her hand to help her up and Regina takes it with barely a second thought, brushing off her ass and glaring at the two still laughing away. “Ignore them, they’re just children.”

**“Emma is my age.”**

Mulan chuckles, stepping over to squeeze her shoulder, “Age is but a number, young one.”

Merida snickers, nudging Mulan playfully before they turn back to the laughing pair.

**“I don’t understand why my falling was so funny.”**

Mulan smirks, “I think it was your expression when you fell that did them in.”

 **“Oh…”** she looks at them and can’t help the smile that slowly curls on her lips, their laughter always bringing her joy even if it’s directed at her, as is the case right this moment.

“I’m sorry, Regina, it’s just…you should have seen your face!” Emma gasps before her and Henry break into hysterics once more.

Regina huffs, flicking her wrist so one of the towels smacks Emma right in the face, but that only makes her laugh so hard she actually topples over…so all in all, self-defence training was going spectacularly!

Merida and Mulan both roll their eyes at the pair, looking back toward Regina, “Let’s try that again; this time plant your feet.”

Regina nods, moving back into the fighting stance they showed her earlier before beginning the move again.

“Stay like that,” Merida instructs before stepping toward Regina and Mulan who has her arm wrapped around Regina’s neck. Merida repositioning her hands gripped on Mulan’s arm, “Okay, now bend forward, lifting her off the ground before using your own momentum to knock her off balance.”

Regina nods again, and she does as instructed, this time Mulan topples to the floor, but like earlier, she stumbles and lands nearly on top of her making the redhead chuckle with the slight shake of her head, “You’re getting there, Regina…but from now on we are just going to have you hitting the weights a few times a week to build up your muscle mass.”

**“In my defence, I was locked up for 12 years.”**

“Yes, now what’s Emma’s defence we will never know!”

“Hey! I’m ripped!” Emma exclaims, shooting up from her prone position on the floor, “I will make you look like a sissy, Hua!”

“You wish! I could bench three of you!”

Emma glares, “Sure! In your dreams!”

“There’s an easy way to prove who’s stronger!”

Emma smirks, “Arm wrestle?”

“You’re like teenage boys, sometimes.” Merida huffs, looking toward Henry, “The actual teenage boy is more mature than you two idiots.”

Regina smirks, looking at Henry who was back to hitting the heavy bag, which Emma had been steadying until her little laughing fit.

“Name the time and place and I’ll be there, blondie!” Mulan says, ignoring Merida’s comments.

“Saturday, lunchtime.”

“You’re on.”

Regina flops back on the mat with a huff, momentarily surprised by the sound of her own body connecting with the mat.

“Am I the only one who distinctly heard her say, ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’ or was she just omitting a very heavy Scar vibe?” Emma asks making the others chuckle and Regina lets her eyes flutter shut, drowning out the world for a few moments.

 

* * *

 

It’s hours later when they’re finally sent away, every muscle in Regina’s body screaming in pain and her hair clinging to her sticky and sweaty skin…she really never thought she would prefer floating a potted plant in the middle of a room so much.

“You look cute when you’re all sweaty and tired.”

Regina glances over at Emma with her blonde hair pulled back in a French braid and abs glistening in sweat…it honestly should be illegal to wear this little clothing.

“Hey, eyes are up here, Mills! I’m not a piece of meat!”

Regina looks back up at her as an awkward chuckle breaks free making Emma’s feigned annoyance fall away to pure adoration, “That’s cruel! You know I’m weak and will always break at that cute ass laugh!”

Regina walks through their bedroom door, heading toward the bathroom, **“I’ll be in the shower”** the computer announces as it slowly floats down onto her bed, Emma’s too mesmerized by the floating object to realize her words until after the bathroom door clicks shut, Regina smirking as Emma calls out an annoyed, “Hey!”

Regina looks into the mirror, shocked by the smile that meets her eyes before she frowns deeply at the difficult task of removing her sports bra, which she decides to take off last because honestly she was sometimes sure she breaks more of a sweat removing that damn thing than she did during most workouts!

She lets out a surprisingly loud squeak when she gets tangled in the thing, huffing with her arms positioned oddly, turning to glare at the closed door when she hears Emma’s chuckle.

“Stuck in your bra again?”

 **“No,”** she hears the computer respond for her through the door, making her smirk proudly before she finally manages to pull the bra off, only ripping out a few strands of hair this time.

She throws it into the hamper with the rest of her dirty clothes before she moves to turn on the shower, stepping under the soothing spray a moment later. She never tires of these moments, how freeing they are, how soothing the water feels on her skin, sometimes she was sure she could spend forever under the warm spray of the shower but Emma usually starts yelling about using up all the hot water sooner rather than later.

She washes the sweat from her hair and scrubs it off her body; the movements fluttering over a scar every now and then, skittering over ones that were still rather new, pink in colour rather than the usual white ones…she has to constantly stop herself from worrying about how Emma will see her. All these scars can’t be attractive and yet Regina can distinctly remember how Emma’s eyes had ran over her body when they were in the bath not long ago, eyes hungry as she took in her bare skin…so maybe she really doesn’t care.

“If I have to take a cold shower I’ll sing that song you hate all night!”

Regina rolls her eyes, rinsing the last of the soap from her body as she wonders if Emma knows when her thoughts are starting to wander.

Emma rushes into the steam-filled bathroom, Regina barely having time to open the door, their eyes locking before Emma blushes, “I really have to pee!”

Regina let’s her move past before slipping out, towel held tightly to her body as she feels Emma’s eyes running over her body.

“There better be hot water left!” Emma yells before the door shuts and whatever that odd feeling in her gut was vanishes quickly with a stuttering laugh.

“I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine!” Comes Emma’s loud and purposefully off tune voice from the bathroom making Regina roll her eyes. She knows Emma is doing it to make her laugh just as much as she is because she actually enjoys singing in the shower.

 

* * *

 

 

Emma is sitting on her bed reading a book when she feels a slight nudge on her arm from Regina’s powers and she can sense playfulness in the gesture so when she looks up she has a goofy smile on her face but it quickly morphs into a slack jawed expression at the sight of Regina standing before her in a tight black pencil skirt that reaches mid-thigh and a blood red button up tucked into it, the fabric shimmering in the light.

“Wow,” Emma breathes, taking in all of her, feeling warmth spread across her chest at the shy smile on Regina’s face, at the awkward way she always scratches at the scar on her right temple, her bare feet shuffling before she meets Emma’s eyes from under her lashes, hand moving to tuck her hair behind her ear before she moves it to flatten out the nonexistent creases in her outfit.

“Regina…you look…” Emma let’s out an unsteady breath, standing so she’s just a couple feet in front of Regina. “You look magnificent.”

Regina looks up at her, nibbling on a faint pink lip, Mary Margaret has been teaching her how to use make-up recently. She was always hesitant with it, nothing more than a soft lip and some eyeliner and mascara. She’s tried foundation a few times, but her nervous tick tends to ruin it pretty quickly.

Regina lets out a deep breath, her smile spreading across her face the longer Emma traces over it, **“So you like it?”**

Emma doesn't understand how a computer could sound so hesitant but she figures it was the still-shy gleam in their shared eyes. Emma finds herself falling in love with her own eyes that are reflected back at her, but the thing is, even when they look like hers in pattern, they expressed something different than hers. It isn't like looking in a mirror, it is like looking into Regina’s soul; she can see every emotion in her eyes, even the ones Emma is sure Regina doesn't understand yet. Sure, she’s been giving Regina the free world crash course, catching her up on everything she’s missed over the years and also explaining some of the emotions she herself expresses when Regina looks at her with that cute confused pursed lips, scrunched-up nose, and wrinkled brows expression. “Yes, I love it…but I love anything you wear.”

Regina blushes and her eyes drop away as her hand moves to scratch at her temple, but quickly changes course to tuck her hair behind her ear, it makes Emma smile, **“Mary Margaret finally had time to pick me up this teacher kink look, I wanted to show it to you.”**

Emma blushes and snorts, shaking her head, “Regina, you really gotta stop calling it that.”

 **“But it is what it’s called,”** Regina pouts.

Emma chuckles, rubbing the back of her neck, “I mean, I guess but like people mostly just call it professional.”

**“Fine. How do you like my professional look?”**

Emma smiles softly at the way Regina rolls her eyes now, at her hands now on her hips in annoyance…now she really does remind Emma of her teachers from high school…just hotter and younger…and way hotter, “Sexy as fuck.”

Regina laughs, shaking her head which makes her soft waves sway with the movement and Emma’s emotions are very contradicting because she wants to ravish her but like…also wrap her up in her arms and keep her safe from the world.

Once Emma manages to move past her face, her eyes almost bug out of her head when she sees hints of black lace under the top, “Are you wearing a bra?” Seriously, this never happens.

**“I believe it’s a part of this teacher kink look. When I looked it up bras were always showing, I think I’m supposed to bend over so you can sneak a peek down my top.”**

“I’m surprised you’re not pulling at it yet,” Emma says very intrigued, though secretly she hopes Regina never gets used to bras because they may be pretty but braless is where the true kinks lie. “Also you know, it would probably do more if you bent over and I saw you weren’t wearing a bra when I get a glimpse of boobs instead.”

Regina purses her lips in thought again, **“You mean I didn’t need to wear this constricting piece of fabric?”** Emma shakes her head and Regina huffs, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff, **“I will remember that for next time…”**

“I look forward to it,” Emma smirks and Regina blushes again, “You’re cute when you blush.”

**“You’re cute when you don’t talk.”**

“Oooooh kitty got claws!” Emma snickers, taking a few steps back so she can perch on the edge of her bed, looking Regina over some more, snickering when Regina starts squirming before tugging at her bra through her shirt, “You know you can just take it off right? I’m not making you wear it.”

Regina looks up at her with a slight pout before tugging at her bra again, **“Mary Margaret said the more I wear them the more I’ll get used to it.”**

Emma shrugs, “I mean yes and no, you still wanna rip them off constantly and set them on fire but well…you do what you wanna do.” Regina smiles softly at her before she moves to sit on the couch, popping a few buttons on her shirt, “Uh, Reg, what’re you doing?”

Regina looks up at her with furrowed brows, **“Taking off this monstrosity!”**

“Out here?” Emma’s eyes scan over her, a blush colouring her pale skin as she sees more of the black lace…that does rather little to actually cover them, “Oh, okay, I see the problem, it’s too small for you.”

**“Too small? Mary Margaret measured me for it two weeks ago.”**

Emma blushes again, eyes shooting to the roof as she awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck, “Yeah well since then you’ve put on a little weight…healthy weight! Like you’re just…you’re no longer skin and bones…you’re like human looking…” Emma looks at her pleadingly, hoping she’s making sense, “You’ve just started filling out…got a little more um…curves.”

 **“Curves?”** Regina drops her chin to look down the slope of her body, **“I hadn’t noticed…”**

Emma blushes and she’s really happy Regina’s paying more attention to her own breasts than she is to Emma, “I just…I don’t think you pay as much attention to your erm, body as I do.”

Regina’s head shoots up to look at her, eyes wide and cheeks adorably pink, **“How much attention do you pay to my body, Emma?”** Emma really wants to know where in her sheltered existence she learnt how to look at someone that slyly…it just…in that outfit, with her shirt gaping open and breasts…Emma is seriously royally screwed!

Emma lets out a groan, flopping back on the bed, “I kinda hate you sometimes.”

Regina chuckles and Emma pushes herself up onto her elbows to look at her, she’s staring at her breasts again, “It looks good, you look beautiful, Regina.”

Her eyes raise up to look shyly at her, lip pulled between her teeth and it’s a second later that her hand raises to scratch at her temple, **“I don’t feel like it.”**

Emma smiles softly, sitting back up, crossing her legs and leaning on her knees, “I don’t know how to make you see yourself the way I see you.”

**“If you saw all my scars.”**

“I’ve seen most of them,” Emma grins at her, catching Regina’s attention as she teases, “Or did you forget about bathing together already?”

**“I could never forget. You were like a living goddess, I’ve never seen someone so perfect.”**

“And I thought the exact same thing about you; was I intrigued by the scars, sad that you had to go through everything you did? Yeah, I was, but I still found and find you the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.”

Regina blushes, fiddling with the buttons on her blouse, **“And you are that to me as well.”**

“You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be for me or anyone else, just be you and I’ll be happy…I love this look but don’t think you have to be a certain way to keep me…I fell in love with the girl that broke down my cell wall and flung human beings around like it was nothing…I fell in love with the girl that saved me, that would risk her own safety for me, and for others because you didn’t have to save Henry and Mulan but you did…I love you for you, so you just figure out the different ways you feel the most comfortable and know I will love you no matter what.”

Regina nods, staring down at her bare knees as she scratches at her temple, thinking.

“Just be happy and I’ll be happy.” Emma finishes, watching her with a loving smile for close to three minutes before Regina looks up again, nodding once more, a whispered “Okay” leaving her mouth making Emma wanna cry and scoop her up in her arms, to show her how much she loves her but instead all she can do is smile widely and watch as Regina stands and makes her way into the bathroom, Emma assumes to rid herself of her bra.

When Regina returns she’s wearing the blouse and skirt still but Emma can’t help but smile as she watches her, posture more relaxed and smile soft, “Better?” Regina looks up, smile spreading slightly before she nods shyly, moving to sit back on the sofa, slipping her hands under her thighs to keep herself from fiddling as she looks around the room.

Emma silently watches her, lets her eyes skim over her body, over the scars on her knees and calves, on the visible parts of her thighs making Emma wonder how she got them while also wanting to murder everyone who ever hurt her, starting with Regina’s own mother.

But then she leaves the scars and focuses on her face, on her downcast eyes and the curly lock of hair in her face, on the way she nervously nibbles her bottom lip before letting it go, jaw clenching and lips pursing in thought before Emma can see her posture tense for just a single second before relaxing again. Heck, she’s pretty sure she can feel the uncertainty the other woman is feeling.

Emma holds her breath when Regina’s eyes flutter closed and she keeps her gaze trained on that lock of hair and the adorable lip biting and how every once in a while her nose scrunches and then her lips purse, and Emma knows Regina’s looking through her eyes by the slight twitch of a smile on her lips before she purses them in thought, like she’s trying to figure out what Emma is thinking, what she thinks is so fascinating; except there’s no way Regina will figure it out, because Emma herself barely knows what she’s thinking or feeling whenever she looks at her, besides an overwhelming amount of love.

“I love you,” Emma whispers and Regina’s eyes snap open to meet hers, the beautiful murky green and mesmerizing chocolate eyes…eyes that now bring Emma utmost joy, they fill with tears, glassy and shimmering and Emma wants to wrap her up in her arms and never let go again…but instead she just says, “I love you,” again because she’s sure Regina hasn’t heard it enough.

Regina smiles a breathtaking smile and removes a hand from under a thigh to place over her heart like she did when they first met and Emma instantly matches the smile.

“I know.”

“Emma…” She breathes, sound wobbly and broken, filled with so much emotion. Emma sends her a wider smile, reaches out so her hand hovers in the air between them.

“I know.”

A tear streams down Regina’s cheek, slow in its path and Emma’s eyes trail after it, she follows its descent over her skin until it drops off the edge of her jaw falling on her blouse and quickly being absorbed by the shimmering fabric. When she finally looks back up Regina’s eyes are closed again, seeking solace and comfort the only way she’s ever known, and still has yet to break the habit even if now it only ever results in looking at herself through Emma’s eyes…literally seeing herself in the eyes of someone who loves her.

**“What do you see?”**

Emma smiles softly, “A beautiful, strong, badass woman who is somehow the nicest person I have ever met, even though she’s been through more pain than most people have in their whole lives.” Emma’s focus gets pulled to Regina’s hand as it raises to tuck hair behind her ear, scratching nervously at her temple for a beat before it suddenly falls to her lap, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. Emma gets distracted by the little scars on the backs of her hands, gets distracted by the bones and muscles in her hands, by the visible veins…by the way the bones on her wrist jut out, she wonders how she survived 12 years in the conditions they kept her in. “I see someone who is silly and obnoxious, who is protective and loving, someone who is as pure as they can come but also more guarded than any of us can ever really understand…I see Regina Mills, my soulmate, a woman I look forward to getting to know, a woman I look forward to watch grow…because there’s only great things coming for you and I look forward to standing by your side, cheering you on every motherfucking step of the way.”

Regina giggles at the cuss, making Emma laugh as well, their eyes meeting and locking, communicating more than they could ever really understand or express in words. **“Glass tank.”**

Emma jumps at the sudden noise, looking from the computer to Regina whose face was so neutral, “What?”

**“The scars, on my hands and knees, I broke a glass tank full of water, glass embedded itself into my hands and knees when I fell.”**

Emma watches as Regina turns her hands palms up on her knees to show the little white nicks and long cuts over the surface, “How did you fall?”

 **“I was inside the tank, when I broke it the water rushed out and I went with it, glass shards cut my arms and legs and I crashed into the far wall. When I tried to pick myself back up, the glass under me crunched and shattered and cut into me,”** Regina’s hands turn over, her pointer finger tracing over one of the deeper looking scars on her right knee, **“Mother was very angry and she made me clean up all the glass, and once I was done there was so much blood covering the once pristine white tiles…eventually they sedated me and when I woke up the glass was gone and I was all bandaged up.”**

Regina’s left hand is still hanging over her knee palm up and Emma can’t help but to reach out, stopping when Regina’s fingers twitch in response, she hovers an inch above them and raises her eyes to meet Regina’s, smiling softly before looking back down at the small scar covered hand. She traces her finger over the air above it, imagines following each and every line on her hand, Regina’s fingers twitch again as a long sigh leaves her mouth. Emma looks up to find multiple tears rushing down her cheeks, but she doesn’t stop, instead she leaves her hand hovering over Regina’s, offering her comfort in the only way she can right now.

“Emma…” She sighs again and Emma lets out her own sigh, head tilting slightly toward Regina as she takes comfort in that gravelly and unsteady whisper.

 

* * *

 

 

As the weeks go by, their connection shifts and grows, accommodating their situation in the best ways it can. It’s almost weird how Regina’s skin tingles when Emma is near, how Emma always shows up or says the right thing just when Regina feels herself falling apart, how they can communicate with nothing but a look most days. It’s weird but energizing; she thrives off it, it’s like the feeling is feeding her soul. She now understands why soulmates are so sought after, she doesn’t know what life would be like if she didn’t have someone who understood her so fully.

Instead of a constant pull, their connection now feels like a warm blanket welcoming them whenever they want. Even if they’re across a room, it wraps around Regina making her feel safe and at home, it somehow understood that yanking them together wasn’t the way to go…she doesn’t understand how it can learn, how their connection feels like a living essence, but it does, it feels alive in the most wonderful of ways.

Emma is less hesitant, she stands a little closer now and so does Regina, moving so much in sync that their earlier fears of accidentally touching are mostly gone. A month spent circling each other, learning about each other, until their minds are almost one. Regina finds comfort in the way Emma’s hand hovers over her back when she notices she’s feeling uneasy, and Emma finds comfort in the glass of water that slides toward her during their daily workouts.

Henry bounces around them, laughing and jabbering about what he’s learning in ‘school,’ David and Mary Margaret are constantly overseeing things, shifting between protective and friendly. Regina doesn’t understand the looks they sometimes give her but Emma says they come from a place of love and she trusts her. Merida and Mulan, well they don’t let up and after almost a month of training, Regina realizes she’s getting good. David and Mulan have started training with her on ways to incorporate her powers in each motion. She’s hesitant at first to say the least, but it takes one report of incoming Aberrant prisoners to light a fire under her.

Today they have defense training, but she and Emma have started referring to it as combat training because they both refuse to sit back and watch the world burn. David and Mary Margaret are less pleased about that, but Mulan smirks at her every afternoon as she lands a harder punch, and Merida is always praising her form, and they all  smiled brightly the day Regina announced that her clothing didn’t fit anymore, Emma’s smile breathtaking when Regina caught her staring at her hips, hips that were once boney, with the bones jutting out unhealthily, but now, now they are, as Emma put it, fuller.

Emma is in the corner of the room, doing cardio while helping Henry with his history homework. Regina is in the center of the mat, eyes following Mulan as she bounces around. Regina feels a tingling at her spine and without thinking she spins around, grasping Merida’s fist, twisting her arm and shoving out, sending her stumbling back. Before she can process what she has done, she feels that tingling again. She kicks her leg out behind her to send Mulan propelling back and with another push of her hands she pushes Merida back down, her breathing heavy and eyes wild as they look around, checking for another attack.

“That was great guys!” David calls, Mulan and Merida flopping back onto the mat, heavy breathes puffing out around them, “You okay, Regina?”

She nods slowly, closes her eyes, thinks of Emma and then snaps her eyes open again, shooting them over to look at the woman, her eyebrows raising in question when she finds her looking back at her, her already flushed complexion getting darker.

“Sorry,” Emma breathes, “you did great, totally badass!”

Regina smirks, body slowly relaxing. She looks up at David when he places a reassuring hand on her back, “You’re done for the week. You can spar some more next week, but for now let’s just work on getting you healthy.”

Regina nods, looking at Emma as she feels her eyes on her again. Regina is just wearing a sports bra and shorts today, the heat reaching a ridiculous height making it almost impossible to wear anything else, so it seems Emma has had some focusing issues. **“My eyes are up here, Swan.”**

“I know, but I’ve been looking at those my whole life, I just wanna memorize how the rest of you looks.”

“Gross.” Henry says, pushing up from his seat and leaving the room without another word making the rest of them chuckle at the still surprisingly childlike boy.

“I mean, you are looking hot, Regina.” Mulan mutters from where she’s sprawled out on the mat, “Definitely stronger.”

Merida chuckles, rubbing her shoulder, “I’ll second the stronger motion. That was some good work today, kid.”

David passes her a glass of water before he passes two more to the other women, silently taking his seat in the chair by the fan, “Your instincts have gotten much better in the last couple of weeks, I have yet to be nearly knocked out by anymore floating objects.”

“Speak for yourself.” Emma grumbles, a towel slapping her in the face a second later, “My point exactly.” She tosses the thing back and Regina stops it mid-air before plucking it from the air and using it to wipe the sweat from her brow.

“Her doing it on purpose doesn’t count, Em.” Merida smirks sipping her water.

“Young love, so precious.” Mulan deadpans, placing her glass of water down before moving to stretch out her sore muscles, “Stretch, Regina, you don’t want to be sore later.”

Regina listens but as she bends down she flashes Emma a devilish smirk that has the blonde turning bright red again and the others laughing at her pain.

Regina is stretching out her arm when Mary Margaret barrels into the room and looks around anxiously, all eyes on her instantly, “I found Henry’s mother...”

“See, that should be good news, but the look on your face and the forlorn tone you’re using really says otherwise,” Mulan mutters.

Mary Margaret sighs, “You remember the story Henry told us about how he was taken, about how he had to save her?” Everyone nods and Regina feels a sinking feeling in her gut as Mary Margaret’s eyes drop to the ground; she knows that look usually means bad news, “We all assumed he was talking about his soulmate.”

“But he wasn’t,” Emma guesses, stepping closer to Regina, the suddenly solid support of her hand hovering over the small of her back telling Regina that this really wasn’t good.

Mary Margaret shakes her head, “The ‘ _she’_ he was referring to was actually his mother. They were on their way home from school when a car came out of nowhere, she shoved Henry out of the way in an attempt to save him, and then all witnesses could remember after that was his cry of mom and the car that hit his mother tumbling over against a light post.”

“He doesn’t know?” Emma asked, somberly, mirroring Regina’s sad expression as a tight grip forms around Regina’s heart and in her throat.

“No, they rushed her off in an ambulance and took him straight to the facility under Level 1 containment…” Regina and Emma frown at the term, “What they consider the most dangerous of The Aberrant.”

“He’s just a boy!” Emma roars, the comfort on her back dropping away and Regina doesn’t have to even look to know the other woman’s hands are in tight fists…because she’s practically certain she can actually feel Emma’s nails somehow digging into the palms of her own hands.

**“And I was just a girl.”**

Emma’s head whips around to look at her, the gutting heartbreak evident in their matching eyes, “I really fucking hate these people!”

“And is she...?” It needed to be asked, but they all already knew the answer so it wasn’t a surprise when Mary Margaret confirmed their suspicions.

“Yes, she died en-route.”

Mulan sighs, Regina turning to watch her run her hands down her face before she turns to walk to the other side of the room, Merida following after her. “Who will tell him?” Mulan asks, voice filled with sorrow as she glances over her shoulder at the group.

 **“I will.”** The room stills, and Regina can feel the uncertainty radiating off everyone around. **“He trusts me, and we have a bond. I believe I should be the one to tell him.”**

Mary Margaret and David frown, glancing unsurely at each other before turning back to her and Emma, whose hand is hovering over her back again, “Don’t take this the wrong way, Regina, but are you really up for something like this?”

Regina nods, **“This is Henry, I am up for anything when it comes to him.”** There’s a finality in her gaze then, they’re all certain that there’s no talking her out of this, they all know, as with Emma, Regina will go to the ends of the earth for him.

“I’ll go with you,” Emma says and Regina turns to smile gratefully at her. “I care about the kid too.”

Mary Margaret sighs, nodding her head once, “Okay, it’s settled. You’ll tell him.”

Regina nods, giving them her best reassuring smile and getting one back from David who after a second reaches out to squeeze Regina’s shoulder, “I know you’re the best choice for this…” Regina nods as he squeezes her arm once more before stepping to the side, giving Emma and Regina room to pass through the door.

“Regina,” Regina spins to look at Mulan who is leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, “tell him I’m here for him, too.”

Regina nods once before turning and leading the way out of the training room, heading toward where she knows Henry will be, playing some video game David scored for him during one of his outings.

“Hey kid,” Emma says as soon as they turn to enter the room, Henry looking up and pausing his game a second later, massive smile on his face.

“Emma! Regina! Here to get your asses kicked again?!”

They both smile, shaking their heads as they move into the room, both sitting on either side of the boy. “We’re here to talk to you. About your mom.”

“Did you find her?”

Henry looks up at Regina with hopeful eyes and she offers him a small smile as she reaches out to brush the hair from his eyes, “I’m sorry, Henry, she didn’t make it.” Regina’s voice is gruff but the care in those few words is enough to express how she feels. The fact that she was even speaking, speaking more words than Emma has ever heard her say at once, shows just how much Regina has grown to love this boy.

Henry’s eyes search their faces wildly. It’s after a couple of silent beats that he crumbles, the information finally setting in and releasing in violent heart shattering wails as he curls into Regina’s side, her arms slowly moving around the body of the trembling boy, rubbing his back and combing through scruffy brown hair.

“I know, Henry, I know,” Regina husks, kissing the top of his head and slowly rocking him in her arms, resting her cheek on the crown of his head and wrapping him tighter in her arms, “I got you.”

Emma meets Regina’s tear filled eyes and hers finally fall free, hand moving to rub Henry’s back, careful not to touch Regina but needing to comfort the boy as best she can.

“We got you, kid, and we won’t let anything happen to you…no getting rid of us.” Their eyes meet over Henry’s head at that last comment, solidifying its meaning inasmuch as a blink. Looks like they now have a teenage son.

Emma watches Regina’s eyes drift shut and she knows after this Regina probably won’t so much as laugh, that she’ll probably hide away…perhaps with Henry, but Emma knows that Regina won’t be making any noise for a while.

Henry sobs harder, and Emma drops her focus back to the boy engulfed in Regina’s embrace, she really would do anything for this boy, even speak more than she has in 12 years in just a matter of minutes.

 

* * *

 

 

Emma looks up from the blanket when she hears the door open, smiling softly as Regina slinks in, “How is he? Finally asleep?” Regina nods, looking around the room, trying to spot her pajamas. “You left them on the couch.” Regina flashes her a slight smile. “You okay?” She shrugs. “I can take the next shift.” Regina smiles at her again before shaking her head, “You need your sleep too, you’re no good to him if you’re dead.” Regina rolls her eyes. “If you’re asleep and he comes in, I’ll take care of it.” Regina nods reluctantly before turning her back to Emma and pulling the T-shirt over her head. Emma’s heart cracks once again in the span of a few hours as she sees the scars on the woman’s back but they’re hidden under a tank top a moment later, “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

Regina looks over her shoulder at Emma, nodding as she shimmies out of her pants and into her sleep shorts. If today hadn’t been so emotionally exhausting Emma might have revelled in how cute she looks or the domesticity they’ve gotten to where they can comfortably change in front of the other…at least on most nights. Sometimes Emma still buries her head in her hands and blushes from head to toe…and Emma still does most of her changing in the bathroom…okay, so it’s really just Regina who changes in front of her…but only after a long tiring day when she forgets about modesty…or well more like Emma’s awkwardness.

“Goodnight,” Emma says, locking eyes with Regina as she lowers herself onto the couch, hugging the thin blanket to her body. Emma thinks she should be prepared to watch her steps later just in case the woman curls up on the floor again…or like that one time, actually under the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

It’s a few weeks after they learnt the news about Henry’s mother, and the boy is slowly starting to come back to himself. Regina is too, but still the two cling to each other like their lives depend on it. Emma thinks maybe they do…maybe this is their way to grieve the family they’ve lost…because with every passing day without word, Regina has come to believe she, too, is alone in this world, but then there’s Henry, and Emma…they’re her little makeshift family along with the rest of their little renegade troupe of rebels.

Emma had Mary Margaret send word to the underground agents back in Storybrooke to check in on Granny’s. It isn’t until they’re nearing their third month in the safehouse that they get word back. Granny had gotten herself taken in, trying to rescue Ruby. Emma was apprehended before she knew the girl’s fate. If she had known the Tentoria had taken Ruby to a facility all those months ago...she would have done something sooner! Emma is torn up over the fact that she’s left her best friend, her sister, in a cage being tortured for months.

“We have to do something!” Emma’s voice booms through the safe house, freezing Mary Margaret in her spot, stopping the words in her throat. “We can’t just let them rot in there! I thought we were supposed to be heroes or something!”

“Emma–”

“No! We-we’re no better than them if we just sit around and do nothing when we can do, well, something! Regina broke me out! Broke herself and the others out! We can–”

“It’s not safe! We have no idea what we’re getting into, Emma! I’m not risking everyone’s lives! If we can destroy them at the head, the rest of the facilities will fall too!”

“It’s been 12 fucking years! Is that what you were telling yourself while Regina was being tortured to the point where now she can’t even fucking speak?! Every day, Mary Margaret! Every day for 12 fucking years they shocked her! Her own mother! Does that help you sleep at night? Telling yourself you’ll take them down _one day_?! Because it does jack shit for me! I can feel her pain, Mary Margaret! I see the scars on her skin, see the fear that still flashes in her eyes!” Tears poured from Emma’s eyes which she quickly wipes them away with the back of her sleeve, “I’ve laid on the floor next to her unable to touch her because they’ve made her scared of herself! Her own self, Mary Margaret! Do you know what it’s like to fear yourself?! No! Because you’re not like her! You’ve never been ostracized by your own fucking mother! You’ve never been beaten and tortured and treated as if you were inhuman! But she has! All those people in those places have! We can’t just…we have to fucking do something! I refuse to just sit back and watch the world burn! That just isn’t who I am!” Emma roars again, eyes full of anger and pain.

Mary Margaret bows her head, before a slow sigh leaves her mouth, “You’re right…”

“What?” Emma blinks, feeling almost like she’s gotten whiplash from the sudden change in direction.

Mary Margaret looks up at her with sad eyes, “You’re right. I don’t know what Regina is going through. I have no idea what it’s like to have a mother like Cora, what it’s like to grow up only knowing pain and hatred…I was born in a more accepting time to a loving mother and father,” Mary Margaret shakes her head at herself. “I just don’t want you kids to risk your lives…you have so much to live for.”

“We have nothing to live for with the Tentoria out there...with Cora out there. We can’t live our lives confined under this roof…Regina has lived long enough in confinement.”

Mary Margaret bows her head once more, “You’re right.”

“Again?”

Mary Margaret chuckles, “Yes, again. You’ve made some good points. I’ll…I’ll talk to David about this tonight, and if he agrees, I will start looking for your friends, we’ll figure out a way to rescue them.”

“This isn’t just about them…this is about every one of those people locked up in cages,” Emma’s jaw set. “We don’t have to start with them; we can start with whoever we can find, but I’m done sitting around…and I know Regina feels that way too.”

“Of course,” Mary Margaret smiles softly at her. “You know, you’re a lot like David was as a young man. He always fought for the greater good too.”

“What happened?”

Mary Margaret raises an eyebrow at her, “You do realize you’re standing in the center of the underground? He built all of this to get people to safety, to rescue people…but after we lost so many trying to break those captured out of the facilities…well, we had to focus on raiding transports instead.”

Emma nods, folding her arms over her chest self-consciously, “I’m sorry.”

Mary Margaret walks over to her, reaching out to gently caress Emma’s cheek, wiping away the tear tracks still coating her skin, “No need to be sorry, Emma. You’re like me too; I don’t think before I speak either,” she smirks as she catches Emma’s eye and then she steps away. “I promise you, we will find a way to save everyone and defeat the Tentoria but not at the sake of yours and Regina’s lives…”

Emma nods again, understanding, as she wraps her arms tighter around herself when Mary Margaret turns to walk away, “You can come out now, Reggie. You know I know when you’re near.”

Regina steps out from the shadows, looking sheepishly at her, **“I’m sorry.”**

Emma shrugs, meeting her half way, “It’s okay…it wasn’t like it was something I wanted to like keep from you.”

Regina reaches up to scratch at her temple, **“I know…I only came because I felt you were upset…”** Regina drops her hand, biting her lip as she looks around, **“Ice cream?”**

Emma laughs, the expression pushing away the negative emotions and lighting her features up with love and happiness.

**“I’ll take that as a yes?”**

“I never say no to ice cream.”

Regina’s face lights up before she wipes the smile away to glare at her, **“And don’t you dare call me that again.”**

“Awee, c’mon! It can be like your, um, tough guy name! Anyway, I think it’s cute and it suits you,” Emma gives her a dopey grin. “C’mon, Reggie, think about it! It’s got a good rin–”

“No,” Regina growls.

Emma pouts and Regina huffs, spinning on her heels and heading right into the kitchen. “I’m sorry! Okay I’ll keep calling you Regina! But I can’t help how much I love your voice! It’s my drug!”

Regina spins around again and quirks an eyebrow.

“Okay, I know that’s a weird thing to say…just…” Emma huffs, running her hand down her face, “Nevermind.”

Regina flashes her a megawatt smile before she continues into the kitchen, waving at the kitchen staff who are in the middle of preparing dinner.

“You two better not be planning on ruining your appetite!” One of the men warns, glaring at Emma like she’s the instigator…which, to be fair, she usually is.

“This was all her idea!” Emma yelps, pointing an accusatory finger at her soulmate, Regina giving her that death glare again…all while she levitates the ingredients for the sundaes from where they reside, glare not leaving Emma as things float all around the kitchen.

“Is this what it’s like to have children?” the first man asks the other.

“I believe this is what it’s like to have Aberrant children, Dear,” the other one responds while ducking under a bowl to get something from across the kitchen. “Dinner is still at seven, young ladies, so like, share one sundae.”

“You got a deal, Jeff!”

 **“Of course, Jefferson,”** Regina responds as she makes Emma’s famous sundae using only her powers, grinning madly at Emma when she places the two spoons in the bowl.

“Great work, babe!” Emma cheers, reaching out to scoop the bowl off the counter, “I say we should go watch some stupid movies until dinner is ready and eat this sundae!”

Regina rolls her eyes but her smile is loving as she follows after Emma, **“Bye, Jefferson. Bye Rogers.”**

They both wave after the pair, “They don’t pay us enough for this…” Rogers says, catching a gummy bear as it falls from the air.

“They pay you?” Their panicked eyes meet before they burst into a fit of laughter and get back to work, “After this is all over we should demand a raise.”

“If this is over we’ll be out of a job, Love.”

Jefferson lets out a thoughtful hum before he starts stirring the food, “I’d be fine with that if it meant the world was finally at peace again.”

They both nod and Regina smiles to herself before she jogs to catch up with Emma who is waiting at the door.

“David didn’t teach you that trick to eavesdrop.”

Regina smirks, **“He said it was for surveillance.”**

“Jeff and Rogers aren’t enemy combatants…nor are David and Mary Margaret when we’re trying to sneak past them at night.”

**“I was practicing…also I always wonder how they do it.”**

“Do what? Make dinner?”

**“Just, be in love…freely…”**

“You know, we don’t act that differently from them, so like, I think we’re doing just fine.”

**“You think?”**

Emma smiles, “I dunno, do you love me?”

 **“You know I do…”** Regina frowns, **“Do you love me?”**

“You know I do.” Regina slowly meets her eyes, smile spreading. “There’s not one way to show someone you love them, Regina, there’s millions of different ways. The way you show me you love me is perfect…and I hope the way I love you is just as perfect for you.”

**“I love the way you show me you love me.”**

“This is getting gross.”

They both turn to see a rather green looking Henry standing in the doorway, **“Not like that, Henry. Also you need to touch for sex, and as you can see, we have yet to touch.”**

“Ugh, Regina, please stop!”

“I’m with the kid on this one, Reggie.”

Regina huffs, rolling her eyes and moving past Emma and Henry to head toward the TV room, **“You want to watch a movie with us, Henry?”**

“Sure! Just like…no more sex stuff.” Henry scrunches his nose up in disgust and the two women chuckle. Emma wraps a reassuring arm around him as she leads them down the hall. “So you guys gonna share that sundae or...?”

Emma pouts, but she feels Regina activate her powers with a huff, and she doesn’t even need to ponder what she’s using them for because seconds later she hears Rogers’ rather girlish scream quickly followed by Jeff’s laughter.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s a few days later when Mary Margaret locates a facility they can hit…one she thinks might be housing Ruby. Emma is anything if not hopeful, and Regina seems like she’s ready to leave this building and tear down everything her mother built. Mary Margaret is still hesitant of the idea, but David looks as excited about this whole thing as Emma. Mulan thinks it’s a death wish, but she still trains them extra hard and still stays up almost all hours helping plan their attack. She may frown the whole time, but she has never said she wouldn’t do it. Merida just wants to kick some ass.

And so after ten days of strategizing, it’s time to hit the road, and Emma’s sure Regina’s more ripped than she is now, and her powers are on the same level as David’s and well past Mulan’s. And if the thought that today may be the day they rescue her best friend/sister is not enough to bring her utter excitement, the idea of how far Regina has come in these last few months, how she’s healthier, stronger, and most importantly, happier certainly does.

They gather in a van David and Mulan stole, and Emma and Regina sit in the back with Merida, who is grumpy at being subjected to what she refers to as “the kids seats,” which is just insulting to her and Regina; however, Emma supposes to the rest of them they are indeed children…but she and Regina still let their offence be known with a synced scuff, their natural synchronization making them look like a pair of love sick idiots.

It’s a day and a half drive to the facility, and to most, the drive could be considered uneventful and rather ordinary, but not to Regina, and by extension, not to Emma either; she’s seeing life through Regina’s eyes, seeing her excitement over things as simple as trees flying by as they drive down the highway or birds flying overhead. There are so many little things that Emma never even thought about that make Regina’s whole face light up in joy and amazement, such as the way she giggles like a schoolgirl when the wind coming from the windows blows her hair around...especially when Emma’s hair wraps around her own head, flying all over the place. It’s such a simple thing and yet from Regina’s perspective it’s the most amazing thing imaginable.  

As they get closer to their destination, they’re unsure how many prisoners will be in there. The records are scarce to nonexistent when it comes to these places, but this happens to be the closest containment facility to Storybrooke so it is their best guess.

Regina is curled up asleep in the backseat of the van when the place finally comes into view, and it’s so normal looking. Emma expected it’d look more…well, _creepy_ , but it’s just a normal stone building like all the others except it’s on the top of a large hill surrounded by a gate. Emma’s anxious to see this place…what it’s like in there…if it’s like the one Regina was in at all. She really hopes that their mission  doesn’t do more damage to Regina than good.

“We need to walk from here,” David says, looking into the back seat. “Merida, can you wake Regina?”

The red head nods and Emma feels the envy and anger swirl in her gut at just the fact that she can’t be the one to wake her before they potentially thrust the woman back into her childhood hell.

“Emma?” Regina’s voice is husky and filled with sleep, and it’s so cute…if Regina is going to say one thing all day it’s usually Emma’s name when she wakes in the morning, seeking her out before she fully enters the world.

“Yeah, I’m here. It’s time to get up and destroy things.”

“And rescue people.” Mulan responds with a huff, and Emma turns to smirk at her like they don’t know this whole thing was Emma’s doing…quite literally.

Regina smiles softly as she cracks open a green eye, instantly meeting Emma’s like she knows just where she is, and Emma assumes that when it happens she does indeed know just where she is, be it their constant connection or Regina’s ability to see through Emma’s eyes.

“We need to get moving before someone notices the van,” David reminds them and Regina sits up, arching her back in a stretch before she reaches out for the hat from her guard uniform, and _she’s just so fucking cute!_

Emma jumps when she hears the door slide open, mentally face palming when she realizes she was staring again.

Regina chuckles and Emma half-heartedly glares at her before following Merida out of the van, turning to watch Regina step out, eyes squinting at the bright sun, her hand moving to shield her eyes even as she looks around, a look of total awe taking over her face as she takes deep breaths of fresh air.

Emma can’t get over how adorable Regina looks when she’s outside, when the sun hits her just the right way and makes her eyes sparkle and hair shimmer…how amazed she looks at things Emma has never really paid much mind to. Emma vows to herself, after all of this is over, she will show Regina the world…take her camping even, just so the woman can soak up everything about the world she missed growing up.

Regina’s eyes lock with hers and that look of awe changes to a wide smile and love filled eyes as she jumps from the van into the dewdrop covered grass, the water soaking into her grey uniform pants, and Emma doesn’t understand how she can make a uniform that usually brings forth a feeling of terror look so…cute and even kind of attractive, but Emma’s pretty sure it’s just Regina because no matter what, Emma is always attracted to the woman…the cute woman who is currently placing the hat on her head and smoothing out any wrinkles as she looks to Mulan in the same uniform as they face the large overbearing yet ordinary building a mile up ahead.

“Will they be able to walk this far?” Emma asks, suddenly worried for the condition the prisoners will be in as she remembers what Regina looked like the day they met.

“It’s downhill,” David states as he moves toward the forest surrounding them, hoping it’ll give them some coverage as they approach, “and you’ll be here to drive up the van if we need it.”

Emma pouts because she kind of hates this part of the plan (shouldn’t she be there to identify Ruby?), but Regina had pointed out that she knows exactly what her friend looks like so Emma is the getaway driver. “Right…” She looks over at Regina who is watching her softly before a reassuring smile curls up her lips. “Be careful.” Regina nods, and Emma almost feels the way Regina’s eyes rake over her face like she’s caressing her…like she’s trying to remember every detail about her…just in case. “I promise not to do anything stupid.”

Regina nods and then glances back at the group of others heading into the forest and then she’s blowing a kiss before turning to run after them and Emma feels a gentle pat against her chest where her heart is…Regina telling her she loves her in her own way before their connection fights against their separation, tapping into their anxiety and trying to hold on tightly to the other like they so badly want to and Emma hates herself for the tears that suddenly cloud her vision as Regina disappears past the treeline…Emma’s scared that she might lose her before even getting to hold her, but she pushes her fears aside and hopes to send Regina positive vibes as she crawls into the front seat of the van, adjusting the seat before grabbing the binoculars tucked into the glove compartment to keep an eye out.

 

* * *

 

 

Regina looks up at the building after Mulan puts the contact lens in her eye and falters when she sees it. She can feel fear clawing up her throat and twisting up her insides and then she feels a hand on her back and it all crumbles away as Mulan smiles at her like she understands. They take a minute to pull themselves together before they sneak into the grounds from the back fence, and after that, they just walk in the front door. The plan is easy: walk in, pretend to be checking in David and Merida, escort them to their cells and then just break everyone out. Regina doesn’t fully understand how this will work; she knows how hard these places are to escape from and how they always have the same crew working but maybe that was just hers.

“It’ll be okay,” Mulan whispers, before gripping tightly onto David’s cuffed arms, Regina slowly grabbing onto Merida who offers her a reassuring smile before she and David start their stumbling walk toward the front of the building. Regina’s jaw almost hurts from how tightly it’s clenched, but she suspects it makes her look angry at least, so she sets her shoulders, looks straight ahead and drags Merida along with her, trying not to pay attention to the odd feeling of the contact in her eye to make it look like the other…she wonders what she looks like with two brown eyes.

Regina looks up at the large doors and feels her stomach twist anxiously as they wait to be buzzed in, her heart beating so quickly in her chest she’s actually worried it might just give out on her…wouldn’t be a first.

“Transporting two prisoners,” Mulan’s voice pulls her back to the present, her eyes hazy as she follows behind them, feeling Merida’s weight being pulled behind her as she stumbles on her own feet to act sedated..

“Names?”

“James White and Lily Strong,” Mulan answers pointing behind her at the two.

“Alright, just place them in the holding cells to await processing.”

“Of course,” Mulan nods and looks back at Regina who really hopes her panic isn’t showing on her face as they lead them into the little cells eight feet away.

“Good luck,” Mulan whispers to the two before she steps back.

“You too,” David smiles reassuringly at Regina and she slowly starts to relax before Mulan leads them out and they make their way into the main part of the prison with a few other guards.

Regina looks over at Mulan with panicked eyes, _this wasn’t the plan._

She flashes her a smile just like David had. “It’ll be okay, Regina, just keep your eyes out for her.”

Regina nods, raising her head to look around. It’s bigger than she imagined; this place seems to house close to fifty people, which compared to her facility which only housed a max of four at a time…well, Regina was having a hard time understanding this place. It had high ceilings and the walls were lined with barred cells and in each cell there were two people with unmatching eyes and from what Regina could tell there was at least two floors that housed these people, and over the edge, she could see a large open space…Regina worried what it could possibly be for.

“This place is huge,” Mulan whispers, glancing around, “it’s like an actual prison…I wonder if it’s one of the old ones they shut down years ago…”

Regina shrugs, eyes skimming over each person in a cell - men, women, but no children.

“Do they not keep the kids here?” Regina shrugs again, maybe there was another place for low security children.

They circle the whole top floor with no sign of Ruby before they make their way down the concrete stairs, Regina’s hand running along the chipped burgundy painted metal railings, the feel of the cool metal resurrecting memories of the metal chairs they would strap her into flashing before her eyes. Her heart picks up its pace again, pounding against her ribcage as she tries to blink away the memories of Mother and the doctors…her hands clenched into fists at her sides to hide the fact that they are shaking as they walk around the empty floor. She can feel her breathing pick up and she can feel the air getting thick for a second before Mulan’s voice reaches her ears.

“Breathe, it’s okay.” Regina sucks in a quick breath and looks up to meet Mulan’s eyes, she looks about as frightened as she feels. “Do you see her?”

Regina shakes her head, suddenly worried they’ve come to the wrong place when her eyes catch sight of long red streaked hair and pale skin, she stops suddenly, grabbing Mulan’s arm and turning her head to look at the girl, leaning through the bars and flirting with one of the guards. Regina’s assuming she’s got some kind of ploy going on because she wouldn’t actually be interested in these monsters, would she?

“You see her?” Mulan whispers and follows her eyes, “The one flirting with the doofus?” Regina nods slowly, she’s seen Ruby through Emma’s eyes for so many years, witnessed how much she cares for her…Regina just wants to wrap her up in her arms to thank her for all she’s done for Emma over the years. “Let’s circle around; maybe the guard will have moved on when we get back.”

Regina nods again, her eyes momentarily locking with Ruby’s, watching them carefully before they move back to the guard, the flirtatious smirk back on her face.

“This place is something else…” Mulan whispers as they pass the cells, seeing girls playing cards on their beds or just hanging out, “They’re so free.”

Regina nods again, longing for this possibility. The thought threw her off because she _is_ free. She shouldn’t be jealous of these people locked up but she was…because they had other people around them.

“Me too, Regina…me too.” Mulan sighs as they walk back up the stairs, circling the top floor once again, “But hey, we’re free now.” Regina looks up at her, flashing Mulan her best smile. “We will fix everything.”

Regina nods, tucking her hands into her pockets to keep herself from scratching at her scars, eyes looking into every cell, trying to memorize every face…or at least as many as she can so they wouldn’t be forgotten.

Mulan eyes some of them too. They seem like they’re in pretty good shape, maybe they don’t need to control these people like they did them. “At least they don’t seem to be getting tortured.”

Regina nods, but as she looks at every one of their faces she can see that vacant look in their eyes not unlike the one she used to see in her own reflection. Mulan directs her back down the stairs, both giving one final look to a pair of men playing poker in their cell. Regina lets out a sigh of relief when she sees the guard has left. So they speed up their pace just a fraction to get to Ruby’s cell faster, stopping to see the girl sitting on her bed and leaning against the wall as she sucked on a lollipop while gazing up at her cellmate who was dangling off the side of the bed.

“Ruby?” Mulan whispers and the girl’s eyes snap to them, almost like she was unaccustomed to hearing her name spoken. “My name is Mulan, and this is Regina. Emma sent us.”

Her eyes widen, and she tosses the lollipop across her cell as she moves toward the bars of the cell, her cellmate moving just fast enough not to get head-butted by the lanky girl.

“Emma sent you? Emma Swan?” Her eyes rake over them, getting so close to their faces Regina can make out the slight difference between her eyes, one an almost seafoam green and the other a grey blue. It wasn’t obvious, but it was breathtaking.

“Yes,” Mulan looks around. “We’re from the Underground; we’re here to rescue you…and your friend.” She looks toward the small blonde now hovering behind Ruby.

“Rescue us? And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

Mulan rolls her eyes, “Regina, care to do the honours?” Regina smirks, biting her bottom lip as she focuses on working the tumblers in the archaic lock, her smirk turning into a massive smile as they hear the lock turn and the door open just an inch and with that Mulan reaches out to pull it open. “Does that answer your question?” Ruby nods slowly, and her and the blonde turn to look at each other in amazement. “You coming?”

“Fuck yeah!” Ruby breathes, stepping out of the cell and dragging the small blonde with her. “Where the hell did Em even find you guys?!”

“We actually found her…or should I say, she did?” Mulan nods her head toward Regina who is looking around them anxiously, “Let’s move; we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“Regina, give David and Merida the sign.” Regina nods, eyes closing but she continues to walk blindly, focusing on finding David and giving him a little nudge. “Done?” Mulan asks when she notices Regina’s eyes are open again.

Regina nods, looking around, sensing her surroundings, she looks up at Mulan with wide eyes, nudging her with her elbow.

“Just act natural,” Mulan whispers, stepping aside to grab onto the small blonde’s arm as Regina slowly reaches for Ruby.

“Hey, where are you taking them?”

“Testing.”

Regina nods, setting her jaw hoping it will make her seem scarier.

The man eyes them funny, stepping closer, “Do I know you from somewhere?” He eyes Regina then Mulan, “Weren’t you a metro cop? Mulan, right?”

“Yeah, just recently got transferred here.”

He nods slowly, looking back to Regina and squinting his eyes before slowly shaking his head and looking back to Mulan. “No…that’s…aren’t you the Aber–”

He tumbles to the floor and Mulan snaps her head over to Regina who is standing there holding her nightstick in her hand and eyes wild in panic.

“Shit! Okay, change of plans, we’re literally breaking out of here!” Mulan rushes, looking around them at the sudden uproar of prisoners. “Break the doors, kid.”

Regina just smirks again before the doors are forcefully slammed into the walls, Ruby yelping and grabbing hold of the blonde who is still clutching to Mulan. “Run!” and they start running, Regina and Mulan both shoving people aside with their minds as they pull the other two up the stairs, the alarm blaring loudly throughout the building. “Well that’s one way to give a sign.” Mulan chuckles and Regina smirks.

“What happened?!” David yells as he punches out a guard and continues to wave down escaping prisoners.

“Someone recognized me, and Regina panicked!” Mulan called, tossing a guard over the railing.

“I mean, this is going a lot better than my first time!” David calls out with a slightly unstable laugh, hand shooting out to grab onto Regina and pull her out of the crowd. “Good work, kiddo.”

Regina grins widely at him and then they’re running out of the building, Merida holding off guards. “Wanna tell your girlfriend we need a pick up?!”

Regina salutes, closing her eyes and thinks of Emma, her chest filling with warmth before their connection tightens and pulls.

“To your left!” Mulan yells and Regina turns to watch Merida fling a man across the field.

Regina grabs onto Ruby and her cellmate, tugging them after her, only nodding her head to send guards flying out of the way, clearing a path around them while the others cover their backs.

“Eagle eye!” Mulan yells before a man falls from the roof. “I hate snipers! Regina you wanna just–” Regina screams and the guards in sight hit the dirt and a few fall from their perch. “Yeah, that.”

They continue running, not slowing as they approach the gate. Regina and David take care of them instantly, the doors opening just enough for people to get through but not any cars if they try to follow. As they pass through the gate they see the van barreling toward them, turning so it slid to a stop with the sliding door wide open. “Called for a ride?!”

They all let out a relieved laugh before Regina climbs in followed by David before they help pull everybody quickly into the back, “C’mon!” Merida calls to a small tanned girl with wild curls as she rushes towards them, reaching out her hand to yank her in. The door slams shut behind them as David yells, “Drive, Swan!”

Emma turns the van, speeding down the road, “I still don’t understand why I’m the getaway driver! Wouldn’t Mulan be better since, you know, she was a cop?!”

“You’re normal, so you drive!”

Emma pouts. “Hey, Ruby.”

Ruby breathes out an unsteady laugh, resting her head in her hands from where she sits on the floor of the van.

“What the fuck just happened?!” The girl they pulled in screams, sitting on the floor by Regina’s feet.

“My soulmate is a badass superhero!” Emma unhelpfully announces.

Regina scuffs, buckling up her seat belt from where she’s sitting in one of the middle seats.

“‘Cause that explains everything,” Ruby mutters with the roll of her eyes.

“I know right!” Emma calls out, making a sharp turn on the road, Regina just knowing she has that stupid, proud grin on her face, “Also, why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were Aberrant?!”

“It never came up?”

“I’ve known you for seven years, Rubes!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Ladies!” Merida hollers. “Can we just let Emma focus on driving? I’d rather not die in a ditch.”

“I second that,” Mulan mutters, holding onto the handle above the door for dear life.

Emma rolls her eyes but the rest of their odd rescue team chuckle to themselves before they all look out the windows, checking to see if they’re being followed. Their eyes don’t leave the area until they’re entering the Storybrooke District. Emma driving them to a place she knows they will be safe to hideout while David goes to steal some new plates.

 

* * *

 

 

“Really, Em?” Ruby asks, looking around the old rundown cabin with a scrunched up nose.

Emma shrugs, “It’s the first place I thought of that was safe, and we kinda need a place to like hide and like, figure out how we’re gonna get Granny without holding another prison break of epic proportions…no offense, babe, you did great, but like…I enjoy not being shot at.” Regina looks over at her with curious eyes before going back to staring at the two newbies...who look very weirded out by everything. “Hey, Reg, maybe give the kids some breathing room.”

Regina blushes before stepping away and slowly circling the living room, finger running through the dust on the mantle and standing on her tippy toes to stare at random photos and trinkets here and there.

“So, your soulmate, huh?”

Emma awkwardly rubs the back of her neck, smiling goofily as she watches Regina jump when the old cuckoo clock she was staring at blared. “Yeah, she’s amazing.”

Ruby looks over at Regina, she had left her uniform top and cap back in the van, leaving her only in a tank top, the pressed pants, belt and boots, but it also showed off the many scars the girl had, “She’s um…”

“She was in what they apparently call Level 1 containment since she was 10…so she’s learning and healing, but I wouldn’t want anyone else because she’s the most amazing, badass, sweetest person I have ever met.”

“Hey, Regina! Let’s get that contact out,” Mulan calls as she walks into the cabin, hands buried in her uniform pockets like it is the most natural thing to her. It’s in moments like this that Emma remembers who she was before the Tentoria locked her up.

Emma’s focus goes back to Ruby, looking her over intently, “Are you okay? They didn’t um, hurt you, did they?”

Ruby shrugs, “It wasn’t too bad, I guess, just took us for brain scans here and there.” She looks over at the two sitting on the recently uncovered couch talking with David and Merida. “Tink definitely helped keep me sane.”

Emma smiles painfully, “I’m sorry I didn’t come for you sooner, if I had known…”

“It’s okay, Em…really.”

Emma raises her eyes to lock with Ruby’s. “I’m glad you had someone.”

Ruby grins at her looking at Tink as she seems to be coming out of her shock while having a very lively discussion with Merida, the other young girl sitting awkwardly in the middle, eyes shooting here and there as she tries to figure out what the everloving fuck was going on…Emma remembers what that was like…but she had Henry then to very bluntly fill her in. “So, about Granny?”

Emma chuckles, focus shooting back to Ruby. “She started a fight with a couple officers after they refused to tell her where you were. We have a friend trying to pull some strings and locate her, and we do have a solid breakout plan in place…it’s called let-Regina-run-free-while-we-stand-out-of-the-way.”

“How did she find you?”

Emma smirks, “She broke me outta prison.” And with a squeeze of Ruby’s arm she starts walking toward the group on the couch, “Now, if you don’t mind I got the job of a smartass tween to do.”

Ruby looks at her oddly for a moment before walking backward toward a chair and dropping into it, having memorized the layout of this place years ago back when she and Emma were young. They would run away and spend weekends in this place thinking they were some cool rebels only to find out a couple of years later that Granny knew they were there the whole time and kept just enough food in the house for them to steal…Emma sometimes misses that innocence.

“Hey, kid,” Emma smiles, making eye contact with the young woman. It takes Emma a moment to notice that her eyes are different, not by much; they are both brown but one is slightly lighter than the other with a starburst pattern in it and the other looks like the ripples when you toss a stone in the ocean or maybe the rings in a tree if they were going by colour accuracy…either way, they were beautiful and confused and Emma could see the fear shimmering in them. “Walk with me?” The girl looks around again before slowly nodding and slipping out from between the two, following Emma out through the cabin doors to see nothing but an endless gathering of trees. “I’m Emma.”

“Moana,” she says, looking around in wonder. “I didn’t think I’d actually see trees again.”

Emma smiles sadly at her, “A few months ago that probably would have shocked me but I’ve been hearing that a lot lately… probably one reason I chose this place.”

“And the other?”

“It’s the closest place to home I can go…at least safely.”

Moana nods, “My soulmate, she lived by the ocean,” she smiles softly to herself. “She used to go surfing all the time with her big sister.”

“Used to?” Emma asks carefully, eyeing the girl subtly as they walk.

“She um…she’s got this temper,” Moana shakes her head at the memories Emma’s sure are currently flooding her brain, “It has always gotten her into trouble…you know, biting people, getting into fights…”

“So, what I’m understanding is, that hasn’t changed.”

“Not at all, she’s always had some kind of cause, be it about cleaning the oceans, protecting wildlife or–”

“Fighting the Tentoria for being a bunch of close-minded bigots that attack mothers and children and lock up and torture millions of innocent people every day?”

“Yeah…that,” Moana sighs, looking up at Emma. “She got herself and her sister locked up a couple days ago…” her eyes pleadingly meet Emma’s, “maybe you guys can help me find them?”

“Of course, kid.”

Moana scuffs, “I’m not a kid. I’m 19.”

Emma laughs, nudging her playfully getting a wide smile in response, “Well, I’m 22 so like, I guess I have no grounds…but David definitely does and he loves his pet names…he’s honestly such a freaking dad.”

“I’ll remember that…” Moana looks back to where they came from. “You know the scary lady is watching us right?”

Emma nods, “I know. I can feel her. She thinks she’s so subtle but she can never sneak up on me…although if she really wanted to spy she’d just be looking through my eyes…” Emma purses her lips in thought before stage whispering, “Wait, her eyes aren’t closed are they?!”

Moana looks, a small chuckle rumbling out of her as she slowly shakes her head, Emma turning to look at Regina leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrow raised inquisitively.

“Regina, hi.”

Moana shakes her head, “I’m going back in, you ladies have a nice chat.” She sends Emma a wink before walking away, stopping by Regina and offering a grateful smile as she says, “Thank you, for rescuing me…even if it wasn’t exactly a part of your plan.”

Regina bows her head, her smile kind as she reaches out to gently squeeze Moana’s arm, Moana’s smile twitching up slightly before Regina drops her hand and the other woman makes her way back indoors.

“Hey,” Emma husks as soon as Regina gets close, and Regina waves shyly in response. Emma meets her eyes like it’s second nature and it’s soothing to see them back to normal. “I’m so happy to see your eyes are yours again.”

Regina ducks her head shyly for a moment before turning and continuing the walk that Emma was originally on with Moana, eyes gazing at every single tree and following it up into the skies.

“I used to come out here a lot as a kid…but you probably remember that, don’t you?” Regina nods, their connection forming like a warm embrace around them as they walk. “We will need to get you a more portable communication device for future rescue missions.”

Regina smirks at her before wrapping her arms around her body, keeping away the slight chill that was making itself more known the closer it came to autumn…and Emma hesitantly thought, her birthday.

“We should go back inside where it’s warm, don’t need you getting sick.” Regina looks sadly at her, like she’s ready to fight Emma tooth and nail to stay outside. “Okay, fine, two more loops around and then we go inside.” The smile Regina flashes Emma is worth all the grumpy frowning she gets later that night as she forces her under a pile of blankets and to drink all the tea Emma can force on her…just to be safe, of course.

 

* * *

 

 

Merida sits on the closed toilet seat as she watches Mulan brush her hair, face contorted in focus. “You okay? You’ve seemed a little more ‘grr’ lately.”

“Grr?” Mulan questions, turning slightly to look at her friend sitting with her legs spread open.

“You know, grumpier, frownier, sadder…”

“I’m fine.”

Merida sighs, leaning against the back of the toilet. “You need to learn how to, like, express your emotions better.”

Mulan rolls her eyes, “Okay, fine. I’m suffering from PTSD from being held captive and tortured for eight months, and my soulmate is out being reckless, and I’m out stuck here unable to do anything when I could be saving her.”

“Much better! Now, you know if you just like said something to us we would have a plan almost immediately to help you get to her.”

Mulan sighs, “I have been so busy planning this I haven’t checked on her in a few days and the next thing I know, she’s gone and got herself locked up!”

“Yeah well that seems to be the theme these days,” Merida chuckles. “I mean, that is how Regina found Emma so why can’t it be how we find your girl?”

Mulan offers her a grateful smile as she drops the brush onto the counter about to respond when Emma sticks her head in the bathroom. “Looks like we’re rescuing more than one person! Moana’s soulmate is locked up too!”

Mulan blinks, “How did you know we have to save my soulmate?”

Emma’s arms flop to her side, and she lets out a whine, “Yours too?! Can they all just stop raising hell?! So now we gotta locate and rescue three people?!” Emma sighs, “We better get some sleep, looks like we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us!” Emma rushes off, both women staring at the now empty doorway in confusion for a beat before Emma pops back into view, “Also like, I’m sorry about your soulmate…here if you like, need to talk.” And then she is gone again.

“Odd kid.”

Mulan laughs turning to look at Merida, “She means well.”

“I know, I love her, she’s wonderful! Same with Regina, but she’s still an odd one.”

Mulan nods before letting out a sigh, “But she is right, we really should get some sleep because we still need to rescue this Granny lady tomorrow on our way home…I can’t believe that place is now home.”

Merida shrugs, “It’s the only home I’ve known for years. It’s actually better now with all you idiots in it…and now we have at least four more if not six more coming to stay with us!”

Mulan groans, “How will we all fit in the van?!”

“Not comfortably.”

“We should have just stolen the school bus.”

“I know you and Emma like yellow, but it’s not exactly inconspicuous.”

“Yeah well, neither is potentially 11 people packed into a minivan!”

“Point well taken…”

Mulan hums her response as she turns to leave the bathroom, heading into the living room where she and Merida will be sleeping tonight…along with Regina too apparently considering the girl is curled up under at least three blankets and has Emma’s jacket draped over her as she sleeps in a tiny, peaceful ball on the couch…the lump from the blankets being the only reason they even noticed the girl was on the couch.

“Emma is way too overprotective.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

Merida shrugs, “I suppose, but she’s gonna be sweatin bullets later.”

“Probably but you know, young love.”

Merida chuckles before they move to the large couch, “Guess we’re snuggling.”

“Just like our last mission together.”

“Good times…” Merida smirks before climbing onto the couch and patting the space in front of her getting an eye roll from Mulan before she moves to lay in front of her. “‘Night, M.”

“‘Night, Mer,” Mulan yawns, both of them passing out a few moments later.

 

* * *

 

 

Like usual Regina wakes up with the sun, all the blankets just a lump on the floor but somehow Emma’s jacket is still draped over her and Regina slips on the red leather thing as she moves to step outside and just breathe in the fresh air and remember what a place like this looks like.

She’s not sure how long she’s standing out there until she feels that slight pull in her chest followed by a humming in her skin turning just in time to see Emma stepping outside.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Regina husks, looking around the place in wonder again.

“Did you get to see the sunrise through the trees?”

Regina lets out a hum, nodding as she looks past the never-ending path of trees…it’s beautiful.

“I’m sorry I missed it, I wanted to get up in time but apparently I slept through my alarms…to be honest I’m only up now because Ruby started yelling at me about said alarms.”

_You’re sweet…a bit of a disaster but a cute one._

“I’m going to guess that look means you liked the thought of the gesture even though I utterly fucked up the follow through?”

Regina hums again, wrapping Emma’s jacket tighter around her, _that was definitely what I meant…_

Emma chuckles, “You know, you are sometimes pretty chill with the swearing but like…you still flush when I say fuck and it’s honestly so pure.”

Regina rolls her eyes, looking up at the treetops, _I bet the view is amazing from up there…_

Emma sighs, following her line of sight, “So uh, today should be fun. We’ll get Granny and then like drop ‘em off and head out to get Moana’s and Mulan’s soulmates since they apparently got themselves locked up, too.” Regina turns her head, quirking a brow at Emma, “I know, them too, it’s like an epidemic Regina! We just can’t seem to help ourselves!”

_Idiots that’s what you are! You’re all going to get yourselves killed!_

“Hey! Don’t think so loudly! I can practically hear you screaming at me with just a look…” Emma smiles at her, “But like it’s not like we can make them stop…it’s a little hard to send out a PSA about the dangers of trying to stop injustice and shit and honestly, Regina, they wouldn’t actually care if it could actually help people.”

_Like I said, idiots._

Emma sighs, looking back out at the forest, “Some people just hate standing by and watching people suffer.”

_I know, and I love you for that._

“I love you too…” Emma sighs, looking back at Regina as she asks, “Is it weird that I can like feel when you think that?”

Regina shrugs, smiling lovingly at Emma before going back to trying to memorize everything around her from the way the chill of the air feels on her skin, to the way the forest smells, how it looks, and sounds…it’s wonderful.

Emma just silently stands next to her, the two not moving until Mulan exits the cabin to announce that Mary Margaret was calling about Granny.

 

* * *

 

“They…let her out?” Emma asks, blinking slowly as they stare at the screen of David’s phone.

“Yes, they figured since she was old.”

Emma shakes her head incredulously, sharing a disbelieving look with Regina, “The Tentoria, let out someone causing trouble…because of their age?”

Mary Margaret chuckles, shaking her head at the thought of it as well, “I know, it’s weird but she wasn’t taken in by Tentoria officers, she was taken in and held by local police.”

“So she’s in Storybrooke?!” Ruby injects, leaning into view of the small screen.

“Yes.”

“We have to go get her!”

“What? Ruby, they’ll be waiting for you there, it’s not safe!”

“You were ready to break her out of prison a minute ago, how is this any different, Emma?!”

“Because they wouldn’t be waiting for us! I wouldn’t be walking everyone into a trap!” Regina clears her throat, and Emma adds “Not that I am the leader or anything…” Regina smiles before leaning forward to catch Ruby’s eyes.

“Uh, why is she looking at me like that?” Ruby whispers to nobody and Emma looks back at her and sighs.

“Okay, you have a point, we could send in one of the local agents to pick up Granny and bring her to the safe house.” Regina smirks, satisfied, nodding before she leans back against the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, looking just too damn proud of herself. “You know, it’s no reason to be smug!”

“Uh, how did you know that’s what she meant?” Ruby asks, looking between the two before glancing around the room, “Anyone else find this odd?”

“We’re used to it,” Mulan shrugs. “So, Mary Margaret, you think that’s something your guys can do?”

“I already have people in place watching her. I can get them to give her a message and they can probably extract her within the next few days.” They all nod, looking at Ruby for confirmation of their plan.

“Yeah, okay, that works for me.”

“Wonderful! Now the rest of you head back home before they close up the borders.”

“About that…” Emma says with pleading eyes at the older woman.

“What now, Emma…”

“Mary Margaret, just, listen to the girl,” David cuts in with pleading eyes before the woman’s groan is heard loud and clear throughout the room.

“We need you to find some people, Mulan’s and Moana’s soulmates were taken in like Granny…they both live by a beach do you think you could put your feelers out?”

Mary Margaret sighs again before nodding, “Of course, just please come home and drop the girls off, they are not ready for a prison break.”

“About that…”

“I do not like the sound of that and considering the face Regina is giving me I know I’m going to hate this plan.”

“Regina, Mulan, David, and I are going to stay behind while Merida drives the rest home…it’s just, there’s so many people that need us out here.”

“No! David, you agreed to this?! You know how unsafe that is!”

He sighs, grabbing his phone from the stand nodding to the girls to clear the room, “I know, Mary Margaret but they have a point…you didn’t see how many innocent people they were holding in that place and now a lot of them are just wandering about aimlessly…”

Emma looks back at him before she leaves the room, stopping just in front of an anxious looking Regina, “It’ll be okay.” Regina offers her a soft smile and Emma reaches out so her hand was hovering over Regina’s arm, their eyes locking in silent conversation. “I promise.”

 

* * *

 

 

It’s a week of them driving around and helping the people from the local division of the underground relocate a bunch of the Aberrant people they managed to set free. It was a lot of work transporting people out of the district and placing them in safe houses all around the neighbouring districts. It was rewarding work, even though Regina misses actually being able to properly respond to Emma and she misses Henry, too…but it’s all worth it to see just how happy it’s made Emma and the people they managed to save.

It’s now the middle of the next week and they’re thinking of heading on, possibly home. When Mary Margaret calls, and not just to update them on how the others have settled in or how Granny has successfully taken over the kitchen from Jeff and Rogers like usual, no, today she has news on the location of another facility, and a possible location on Mulan’s and Moana’s soulmates, who turns out are sisters.

“They are in a detention center in Hawaii. We’re sending in local people to extract them and bring them onto the mainland. From there we have people who will transport them to here. We have it covered.”

“I want to be there for her…so she knows what’s happening,” Mulan says, voice urgent and her eyes pleading.

“I know you do, Mulan but it’s not safe for you to fly and getting you there unnoticed would take too much time. Trust me when I tell you this is what’s best for everyone.” Mulan looks down at her lap and Regina frowns, reaching out her hand and taking Mulan’s squeezing it slightly to get the woman’s attention, “She must be so scared, Regina…both of them…she’s raised her sister on her own since the girl was just five and now they’re locked up all alone and I can’t even be there to tell them the big scary men whisking them away in the night are good guys.”

“I’ll have my men call you, you can talk to her.”

Mulan looks back at the screen, “I don’t know how much that will help but I appreciate it…”

“I will keep you updated so you can be here when they arrive,” Mary Margaret informs, Regina keeps watching Mulan, her eyes brimmed with tears.

 _She will understand._ Regina focuses her eyes and tilts her head in thought, pulling Mulan’s attention back to her and Regina offers her an understanding smile paired with another squeeze of her hands, _and we will get you back to meet her at the door._

“You’re getting good at this, kid,” Mulan chuckles, squeezing Regina’s hand back before looking at Mary Margaret’s face on the screen. “Okay, send in your men.”

“I already have.”

Mulan chuckles shaking her head at the gull of the woman, “I guess now all you need to do is tell us about this other facility.”

Mary Margaret nods, looking at Regina who suddenly looks very serious if not a little scared, “It’s a Level 3 facility, rumour has it they house a max of six prisoners so be prepared to get that many out.” They all nod. “It’s based in the Brooksdale District, medium security, and…”

“And?” Emma asks hesitantly, Regina feels her eyes watching her without having to look up.

“From what I could understand a lot of the people who survived Regina’s escape were transferred there…including–” Regina’s blood runs cold and her ears start ringing when she hears the doctor’s name, can remember every single test like it was yesterday, can remember what it felt like when he strapped her to tables, when he yanked her from Daddy’s arms.

“Regina?”

She knows Emma is speaking, can feel it in her soul more than she can actually hear it but she can’t focus, not with that man’s words echoing through her skull…not when all she can see is his vacant eyes watching her through the glass…not when her skin can still feel his hands on her…when she can smell his breath. She closes her eyes to fight off the memories of the painful tests, she can feel her tears rolling down her cheeks but all they do is remind her what it felt like to drown, remind her that no matter what she did it never stopped…her throat closes around a sob and all she can remember is what it felt like to have his hands wrapped around her throat.

“Regina?!”

She knows she’s not okay, she knows she’s scaring Emma but all she can hear is _“I think it’s had enough, dearie.”_ And _“I wonder what its brain looks like.”_ Can hear his voice echoing, curling around her, _“Maybe if we push it enough, scare it enough, it will have no choice but to go to its precious soulmate.”_ She can’t breathe and all it does is remind her of that day, of him holding her underwater in a tank trying to see what she could possibly do…all she can remember is fighting so hard not to seek out Emma even though all she wanted to do was maybe see her one more time before leaving this world…and then everything exploded and there was blood and water everywhere and Doctor Gold looked so proudly at Mother like they succeeded at something…not even caring as she coughed up water, a heap on the floor…she was 15.

“Why would you!”

“It would have been worse of me not to mention him!” Mary Margaret and Emma’s arguing voices were heard for a flash, it broke through for a moment as her brain tried to claw its way out of horrible memory after horrible memory but it wasn’t long before she was pulled back under, being thrust into things she’d rather forget…things she wished would stay forgotten…like the day she destroyed the whole second floor.

_“Regina,” she looks at Mother, sitting in front of her in another one of those uncomfortable metal chairs, Regina sits on her hands to keep herself from scratching at the sensors attached to her head that they use to read her brainwaves. “I have something I need to tell you.”_

_Regina’s head tilts, “Yes, Mother?” confusion evident on her small features._

_“It’s about your father.”_

_Regina’s lip wobbles, she can feel her heart begin to race in her chest._

_“I’m afraid it’s bad news, dear.”_

_Regina starts shaking her head wildly, her hands shooting up to clutch at her ears to block out her mother’s voice._

_“Regina, you’re a big girl now, so act like it and stop this ridiculous behaviour!”_

_Regina only shakes her head more, shooting up from her chair and making it skid across the floor and crash into the pretty picture of the rainbow, chipping the wall._

_“You won’t scare me off with your little tricks, child! Now take your hands off your ears and behave!”_

_“No!” Regina screams, eyes wide and angry, she feels the room tremble._

_“Fine! If you won’t sit and listen like a good girl I’ll just have to do this the hard way! I was trying to be nice, Regina.” Regina looks at her mother, her body trembling with fear, swaying like she was floating in the ocean, “Your father died last night. A heart attack.” Cora’s voice was cold and uncaring and suddenly it was like Regina was pulled under by a violent wave, her body crumbled to the floor, the room rumbling like her knees hitting the floor sent off a million ripples like a pebble crashing into a still lake…except, it was a concrete floor._

_“Cora, get out of there!” Gold’s voice boomed from the speakers and she could hear Mother’s hasty exit but she didn’t care as sobs broke free from her mouth._

_“No!” she screamed, hands slapping against the cracked floor causing the cracks to spread out more…she could faintly hear an alarm blaring but she didn’t care, she wailed loudly, “No! You’re lying! He’s coming for me! Daddy is coming for me and you’re just lying to get me to lose hope!” Regina’s fingers turned white as they pressed against the floor, it crumbling into dust under her fingertips leaving nothing but her small handprints in its wake. “No!”_

_Regina shot up, running to the reinforced steel door and hitting it, “You killed him! You killed him so he couldn’t save me!” She crumbled to the floor, banging her small fists against it, “You did this! You’re the real monster here!”_

_She beat at the door until her hands ached and she screamed and cried, curling into a small ball in the doorway, feeling the place rumble around her like it did when they brought her here…or like when they had that earthquake all those years ago and the books fell from the shelves except Daddy had been there to rescue her then and now he’s not. He’s gone. She doesn’t remember starting to scream but she does remember the sound of it as it echoed through the room, broken and like her life was stripped from her…her broken cries would be the most heartbreaking thing for anyone to ever hear…but the thing is, the ones that could hear it didn’t care so they fell on deaf ears, the only thing that seemed to feel her pain was the cracking walls around her, they had almost become a physical representation of how she was feeling in that moment, the only thing spared on the whole level was the small circle of floor she was curled up on…they only came to get her when her screaming stopped and it was safe to enter…it was close to two days later and she hadn’t moved an inch…she had been 11…that was the last day she spoke…it was also the day when the rule was made that they weren’t allowed to speak anymore because apparently, her words could crumble buildings…the words ‘no’, ‘murderer’, and ‘monsters’ written in the walls with the cracks her screams formed._

“Mija, it’s okay, you’re safe, I got you, it’s okay, I got you…I got you Princesa.” She feels the strong arms gather her up, she feels the kiss placed on her head…it feels like safety and home, “Shhh, it’s okay, mija, you’re safe…it’s just a memory.” She feels fingers run through her hair and she curls closer to the person who’s holding her…the person she knows is David as the memories start to fade away and all she can hear is his heartbeat and his voice and… _Emma_ …she can feel her touch hovering over her skin, not physically there but there all the same, caring and scared…safety…this is what safety feels like. “There you go, mija, just breathe, we got you, you’re safe, they’ll never hurt you again.”

She hears a sniffle and she opens her eyes and at first all she can see it the blurry colour of David’s T-shirt but after a few moments her eyes adjust and she turns her head to see Emma, tears staining her face and looking so scared, “Emma…okay.”

“I’m so sorry, R’gina! I tried…but I can’t…I’m so sorry!” Emma sobbed, crumbling and Regina shifted so she was no longer wrapped in David’s arms on the man’s lap, pushing up on her knees in front of Emma and she reached out her hands, her breath stopping as she thought, as she wondered, _can she feel me too?_ One more look at Emma’s trembling body and she reached out, hands hovering over Emma’s cheeks, following the length of Emma’s arms and then stopping, Regina holding her breath as she held her hands there hoping Emma could feel her too and then Emma’s breath stuttered, a quiet gasp as her head shot up to look at Regina past her hands, Regina couldn’t stop herself from gasping and pulling back slightly but her eyes were glued to Emma’s as the other girl’s tear-filled eyes looked into her soul and then, very eloquently, in true Emma fashion, she exclaimed “I felt you!”

It pulls forth a broken sounding laugh from everyone around, Regina blushing slightly before she brought her hands up to tuck her hair behind her ears, but she can feel Emma watching her so Regina looks back up, their eyes locking instantly, quietly communicating for a minute, so lost in each other they didn’t notice the others leave, even though David kissed Regina on the crown of the head, and affectionately squeezed Emma’s shoulder…they were so lost in each other an asteroid could probably crash through the room and they wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“I was so scared.” Emma finally spoke and Regina’s head tilts in question, “You weren’t responding. You had just curled into this small ball on the couch, trembling and crying but…” Emma gulps, sad eyes boring into Regina, “There was no sound, Regina, you were completely silent but your lips kept moving like you wanted to say something…you wouldn’t let anybody come near you, every time they tried you shoved them back…and then…”

_Then?_

“David whispered ‘Mija’ and it was like everything in the room just stopped…like before when you had your nightmare, but also different, and he kept whispering that until you finally let people near and he wrapped you up…I tried so hard to get through to you, I wanted so badly to help you…but,” Emma frowns, “you were so scared Regina but he could get through to you with just one word.”

_Daddy…_

“He says your dad used to use those with you, mija and princesa. That’s why they work, right? Because he was your safe space?”

Regina nods, but she can feel tears flowing from her eyes again.

“Are you okay?” Regina shakes her head, all she wants to do is curl up in Emma’s lap and never move. “What’s wrong? What can I do?”

Regina smiles softly, “Daddy…he’s…gone.”

“Gone?” Emma suddenly looks like her world is breaking too, “Oh Regina! How do you–” she stops speaking, freezes as she looks deep into Regina’s eyes, “Oh, that’s what you remembered.” Regina nods, “I am so sorry, Regina…I’m so fucking sorry.” Regina bows her head, shifting back on the couch until she was leaning against the arm of it. “I wish I could hug you right now.”

Regina nods, she wishes that too but after her reaction in that memory…well, what could she do if she had full access to her powers?

Emma reaches out, her hand hovering over Regina’s knee, gentle and fluttering, filling her with warmth and love, “I’m always here for you, it’s okay, Regina, I got you and I’m not goin’ anywhere…we can…after all of this…maybe we could find where he’s buried and you could, like, pay your respects?”

Regina’s heart stutters in her chest, their connection wraps around them and Regina just stares at Emma, expression so sincere… “I love you,” Regina breathes and words have never been so easy to say.

“I love you too.”

Regina shuts her eyes away from the tears and just focuses on the feeling of Emma all around her, of that hand hovering over her leg, her warmth seeping into her skin and protecting her from the world…Emma is safety…Emma is home…Emma grounds her…and Emma, Emma is everything.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s just a normal, simple day when they find themselves on their way back to the Safehouse to meet up with Mulan’s soulmate and drop off a couple new Aberrant, three women named Mal, Cruella (Ella for short), and Ursula who bonded instantly when they met, the women clinging to each other in the back seat of the van. They decided to postpone the Level 3 facility for a Level 5 which was more lax in security, and well, didn’t thrust Regina into a situation that could produce another debilitating flashback. Instead, they chose to wait until Regina was ready when they got the call that Mulan’s soulmate was in transit so they hit up two places on their way back picking up their little group along the way.

But today, today was relaxed, autumn had hit, changing the colours on the leaves filling Regina with this odd sense of wonderment that actually had the girl hanging out of the window at one point, using her powers to scoop up brightly coloured leaves that she showed off to Emma with a massive grin. And when they stopped for bathroom breaks or to charge up the van, Regina and the other three women played around in the leaves, Regina sitting in the damp grass with Ursula investigating leaves and bugs and at one point Regina squealed like a toddler when a squirrel scurried past and up a tree, nearly climbing over Ursula to get a better look.

Regina’s eyes are so bright and happy as she turns to look at Emma, checking to see if she sees it too after everything, making sure Emma is in on her enjoyment…it’s so young…so innocent.

“Hey, Reg! You gotta try this!” Emma calls out, standing in the open door of the charging station. Regina’s head snaps to look at her and she rushes away from the old part of the place that houses the rundown useless gas pump, it’s been years since one was actually needed but it sat there, a rusted showing of history they weren’t even alive to remember.

Emma leads her into the station, grinning at David as he fills a basket with snacks, “These things are called slushies! They’re flavoured ice drinks!”

Regina’s brows furrow as she steps closer, eyes squinting at the labels of each drink above the odd swirling pumps.

“Go on, pick any flavour!” Emma looks at each of them, “These are my favourite, I usually mix them; you can do that! Layer them! That’s the best way to have a slushie in my opinion!” Regina purses her lips, hands clasped behind her back as she studies each option before pointing at the fruit punch one. Emma grabs a cup, turning the handle so liquid comes out for a few seconds before the frozen drink and once it does, Emma sticks the cup under it covering the bottom of the cup with it before holding it out to Regina, “Okay, try it.” Regina looks over to the counter where a young pimply teen is staring at the TV. “Just a sip.” Emma chuckles, nudging it closer to her and Regina looks back at her, biting her bottom lip as she timidly takes the cup from her and tips it back to take a sip, eyes lighting up as soon as she tries the drink, “You like it?”

Regina starts nodding wildly, holding the cup back out to Emma as she looks from her to spout making Emma chuckle as she fills up the small cup, popping the lid on it before Regina snatches it off the counter, bouncing with excitement as she watches Emma make her mixed concoction in a much larger cup.

“You ready, kids?” David calls out, placing his stuff on the counter causing Emma to smirk.

“Yeah, dad!” David rolls his eyes at her and Emma rushes towards the counter, eyes zeroing in on the candies, “actually, one more thing.”

“We don’t have an unlimited budget, Emma.”

“It’s for Reggie!”

Regina arches a brow while David laughs, “Right,” He drawls, grinning at Regina as she hesitantly places her cup on the counter, still looking about as excited as a kid in a candy store and well, considering what she was getting, she kind of was. “Glad to see Emma is at least pacing you.” he mumbles before he slides the cup toward the kid behind the counter, “Don’t have kids.” He winks and Regina snickers as Emma reaches past David on the other side and drops two bags of assorted candy, two of each chocolate bar she could find, three types of gum, and several packets of candies and chocolates. “That all?”

Emma looks at the counter, lips pursed, “yup!”

“You sure?”

Emma lets out a hum, looking at Regina, “Need anything?” she shakes her head so Emma looks up at David with a wide smile, “That’s it, pops!”

“Okay, I’m going to pay, take your drinks and wait for me in the van.”

Emma and Regina nod, scooping up their drinks before they rush out the glass doors and dropping into their seats in the middle, Regina taking a sip of her drink as Emma grins at her, “Just like, drink slowly, you don’t wanna get brain freeze, trust me.”

Mulan gets the other women back into the van and slips into the passenger seat with a long sigh, “Sure, she gets treats and what do I get? Stuck babysitting the three troublemakers!”

Emma snickers, holding out her cup, “Want some?”

Mulan takes one look at it and scrunches her nose in disgust, “I’m good, thanks, kid.”

“I got your jerky!” David calls, as he approaches the van, placing the bags into the back next to Emma and digging out the bags of jerky for Mulan before he slams the van door, tossing them at her as soon as he slips into the driver’s seat.

“Yes!” Mulan cheers, ripping open the package of one with her teeth, reclining back in her seat as she digs in, smiling as she watches the snacks float around the van to their proper owners, noticing just how much Emma got for her and Regina forming a literal pile between them, “I guess that’s one way to stop from touching.”

David laughs as he pulls out of the station, “We should make it back by tonight and from there, ladies we can get you placed in a safe house,” He glances back at the three newcomers as they share a bag of chips, “Together of course.”

They smile wildly at him before yapping excitedly with each other, and the soulmates, Emma laughing at stories and grinning lovingly at Regina as she hisses and grips her head, yelling, “I told you to drink slowly!”

Regina tosses a sour key at Emma who catches it, glaring at her, “We do not toss around the precious goods!”

“No fighting, children!”

“Yes, dad.” Is the resounding answer from everyone in the van, Regina’s response a chuckle and caring smile that the man catches in the rear-view mirror.

“Mary Margaret is going to just love this!”

David chuckles, smile a little softer as she gazes back at the group in the back joking around catching Regina’s eyes again, sticking out her tongue at him before laughing at something Emma says. “Yeah, she will…”

 

* * *

 

“David!” Mary Margaret calls out as she runs toward the man and right into his arms, hugging him tightly. “I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you too,” He says before kissing her, Regina and Emma standing next to Mulan, rolling their eyes at the over the top display of affection.

“So, that’s love?” Ella asks with a look of disgust, “Are we going to turn into that?!” She gasps, looking around Mal toward Ursula, “Mal, please kill us if we get that disgusting!”

“It’ll be my pleasure.”

Regina and Emma look back at them blushing when they realize they’re not far off from the reunited couple in front of them.

“Has she arrived yet?” Mulan speaks up, arms buried in her pockets.

Mary Margaret looks around David to smile up at her, “Not yet, they shouldn’t be far out why don’t you relax, get a drink and I’ll let you know when they’re pulling in.”

Mulan nods, picking up the bags by her feet and heading into the warehouse. “Come with me, Ladies, I’ll show you to your rooms.” The three move past Emma and Regina to follow Mulan in, yapping happily to themselves as they look around, Regina doesn’t quite understand how they can seem so unbothered by what happened to them.

“Henry?” Regina asks timidly and Mary Margaret sends her a massive smile.

“He is inside, he wanted to make you cocoa…”

Regina’s face lights up, love shining from every feature as she turns to look at Emma, “Well, let’s go! Can’t keep the kid waiting!” Emma smiles just as widely and starts jogging toward the open door, Regina quickly running, passing her as she rushes into the building.

“Regina!” Henry’s voice meets her ears first before the boy collides with her body and wraps her in a tight hug that has Regina weeping as she wraps her arms around his neck, cradling the back of his head.

“Henry…”

“You’re speaking!” He exclaims, looking at her, while Regina moves her hands to cup his cheeks, he had gotten so big.

 **“You grew.”** She startles at the computers voice reaching her and Henry giggles, pulling a small device from his pocket.

“I worked with Emma and Mary Margaret to get you a portable one, I didn’t think you would work it without meaning to though.”

Regina chuckles, leaning forward to place a kiss to his forehead and brushing back his shaggy hair, **“You need a haircut.”**

Henry rolls his eyes. “Yes, mom.” Henry blushes slightly but Regina just continues to smile at him, the boy now up to her eyes and she can’t help but stare at his maturing features, brushing her fingers over his cheekbones as she feels more tears roll down her cheeks.

“What, do I not get a hug?” Emma asks, grinning off as she leans against one of the posts.

“Emma!” he yells and only pulls away from Regina to rush into her arms, hugging Emma tightly.

“Who said you could grow while we were gone?”

Henry rolls his eyes, “It was only a few inches!”

“More like a foot, you were definitely shorter when we left.” Emma still ruffles his hair, pursing her lips, “But Regina is right, you do need a haircut.”

Henry smiles widely up at her before looking back at Regina, who is standing off to the side just watching them, Henry can’t stand by and let her look so alone so he pulls away from Emma and rushes back to her side and she easily wraps her arm around his shoulders, kissing the side of his head, “I got you guys cocoa to warm up!”

“Yes!” Emma cheers, “I got you something too!”

“Yeah?!” Henry looks at her with wide childlike eyes that show off his age, “Mmhmm, let’s sit and have that cocoa and I can give it to you then.”

“Okay!” He cheers, leading Regina and subsequently Emma to _their_ booth, three cups of cocoa and a large basket of fries sitting on the table. “So much has been going on here since you left! Granny makes the best cocoa and burgers!”

Emma’s eyes light up and she glances around the place, “I remember, kid. Speaking of, where is she?”

Henry snickers, tucking himself into Regina’s side as they sit in the booth, “She’s making you your favourite dish apparently, to welcome you back!”

“Yes!”

Regina rolls her eyes fondly at the two, **“I swear you two only think with your stomachs.”**

Emma and Henry share a conspiring smile, “What can I say, we got two things in common, food,” Emma flashes her a dopey loving grin as she takes a sip of her cocoa to elongate the moment leaving a dollop of whip cream on her nose only making her cuter as she finishes, “And our love for you.”

Henry is snickering and Regina is giving her that look again, the one that means idiot but also that she loves her with her whole heart.

“Hey, I’m your idiot.”

Regina rolls her eyes, tossing a napkin at her before reaching out for her cocoa and taking a sip, Henry still snuggled into her side.

“Emma.” An annoyed voice says and Emma’s head shoots up to look past Henry and Regina who turns to see where to voice is coming from and she recognizes the older woman instantly.

“Granny!” Emma abandons her cocoa, jumping out of the booth and rushing into the older woman’s arms, not even caring about the grilled cheese sandwich which Regina stops midair as it falls from the plate.

**“I got it.”**

Granny smiles at her before wrapping her arms around Emma, holding her similarly to how Regina held Henry just a few moments earlier.

“You’ve been busy, duckling.”

Emma pulls back, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously, “I’m sorry, it’s not like I planned to be on the run.”

Granny caresses her cheek, “A phone call would have been nice.”

“I sent people to get you a message but you got yourself locked up!”

“Yes, well, if both of my babies didn’t get taken away by those monsters I wouldn’t have had to fight them.”

Regina realizes in that moment she loves Granny more now than she already did after seeing just how she took care of Emma all these years.

“I mean…they only locked me up for a few hours.”

Granny rolls her eyes before they shift to lock on Regina’s, “So I heard, I believe you’re who I have to thank for all of this?” Regina blushes, bowing her head as Emma scoops the sandwich out of thin air and holds the plate to her middle, “Thank you, Regina, for getting my girls back to me safely.”

**“I…it was no problem.”**

Emma smiles down at her, “She’s not very accustomed to compliments…we’re working on that though, right, hotstuff?” Regina turns a wonderful shade of pink that has Henry snickering against her side.

Regina turns to glare down at him, shoving the boy away playfully which has him snickering even more.

Granny nudges Emma back toward her side of the booth and slides in next to her, “So, tell me everything.”

Emma’s smile is magnificent, somehow unlike any Regina has seen before, as Emma just starts talking about the last four months like an excited child, only pausing to let Henry share his own stories while they and Granny sit and listen to every single word he says, like he’s telling them the most amazing stories they’ve ever heard.

 

* * *

 

“Mulan! Moana!” Mary Margaret calls through the building, sticking her head down the hall that leads to their rooms, “They’re here!”

Regina’s head stares at the hallway, smile widening as she watches Moana rush past Mary Margaret in a beeline for the door, followed by a fast walking Mulan, eyes excited and hesitant, she meets Regina’s gaze and Regina shoots her an encouraging smile which Mulan replies by waving her over.

“You coming?” Regina’s smile spreads wider as she nods, rushing out of the booth followed quickly by Henry and then Emma, Mulan wrapping her arms around both Henry and Regina’s shoulders as she walks toward the open front door.

“Are you nervous?” Henry asks, voice small.

“Very.” Mulan laughs unsurely as she looks back to see Merida approaching with her camera at the ready to record the meeting making Mulan roll her eyes, but as soon as they step out of the front door into the light of the setting sun Mulan feels this pull in her chest, her eyes locking with Moana’s. “How are you, guppy?”

“I can’t wait to see her!” She breathes and Mulan steps away from Henry and Regina to wrap her arms around Moana, hugging her into her side…looking like the family they’re about to become.

Regina holds her breath when she sees the van pull into the alley, Henry tucked into her side like Moana is tucked into Mulan’s and Emma’s hand hovering calmingly over her back, their own little family.

“You ready?” Merida asks, standing next to Regina, grinning over the camera at Mulan as she looks back at her.

“As I’ll ever be…” She sighs, “Did your chest feel like this too?” she asks no one in particular causing Emma, Regina, David, and Mary Margaret to nod their heads at the same time.

The van pulls to a stop just a few feet in front of them, blocking the alley as they all just stare, waiting for their new residents to exit, but the first person to hop out is a tall gangly man with red hair and kind eyes and he smiles brightly at them, looking like he wants to talk but he shakes his head and quickly moves to pull open the van doors, “We’ve arrived, ladies.”

Regina’s eyes never leave the open doors and she holds her breath as she sees a tanned hand take the one offered by the red-haired man, a tall muscular woman hops out, black hair long down her back and Regina thinks she looks like a goddess…she’s–

“Nani…” Mulan breathes as the woman’s head snaps around to look at her, and it’s almost like the whole world stops as they just stare at each other, Nani’s expression speaking volumes…and then a smaller girl leaps from the back of the van, hair identical to Nani’s, she’s less muscular than Nani, her features still young and there’s no hesitation in her movements, nothing stopping her as she rushes past her big sister toward Mulan and Moana.

“Lilo!” Moana exclaims and starts running toward the girl, Regina’s heart galloping in her chest at the possibility that she’ll see what happens when Aberrant soulmates touch for the first time. When their bodies collide everything stills, it’s less what you see and more what you feel in the moment, the area feels…like how Regina feels when she looks into Emma’s eyes…like home, safety, love. The air stilled, sizzled and then rushed again as Moana snatched her hand back as if she was zapped and she looked into the eyes of her soulmate for the first time, the two girls leaping the short distance to wrap their arms around each other in a tight hug…it was rather anticlimactic in Regina’s opinion, she imagined colours shooting out and bodies lifting off the ground…maybe some spinning and then like falling to the ground unconscious only to wake up and no longer have control over herself…so…this was nice, she supposes. “I’m Moana.”

Lilo pulls back and smiles up at her, “Hi…” They smile brightly and Nani’s eyes keep shifting from watching her little sister to Mulan, whose eyes haven’t left her soulmate since she stepped out of that van.

“It’s really you,” Moana breathes and reaches out, tentatively running her fingers over a high cheekbone before pulling Lilo back into another tight hug.

“Mulan...” Regina’s eyes shoot over to Nani, her eyes shy as she digs the toe of her boot into the ground and Mulan nods slowly, taking a careful step toward her. “Thank you, for, you know.”

“It uh, it was no problem…” Mulan looks back toward them and Henry waves her forward, while Moana smiles encouragingly at her from over Lilo’s shoulder.

Nani steps closer as well, moving around the red-haired man the two stopping about three feet away from each other, “So uh…” She looks around them to all the hopeful gazes and then to Merida with the camera, “Some welcome party.”

Mulan laughs, burying her hands in the front pockets of her uniform pants, “Yeah, uh…they’re kinda my family. Um…why don’t we go in and you can meet everyone…maybe without the camera pointed at us?” She says, comment pointed at Merida as she turns to glare at the woman.

“Sorry, M, this ain’t getting turned off.”

Mulan sighs, “At least we can get out of the cold…” she offers with a lopsided grin that is so unlike the Mulan Regina knows and yet it comes to no one’s surprise.

“Sure.” Nani smiles, “Come on, Lilo, you and Moana can get Stitch settled inside.”

“Okay!” Lilo calls rushing over to the red-haired man who Regina just notices is standing next to some plastic cage, “Thank you, Archie!” she exclaims as she picks up the thing.

“You’re welcome, Lilo.”

She and Moana rush in, followed by Henry, who had looked at Regina hopefully as if asking for permission which he got in  the form of a nod, a scream of “A puppy!” was heard from the boy making Regina want to run after them…she’s never played with a puppy before.

“He’s not really a puppy, he’s about 10 now I suppose.” Nani offers, awkward laugh leaving her lips. “Although he still acts like one most days.”

“Snow, David,” Archie says and they all look to the couple with confused looks, Mary Margaret waving them off.

“Why don’t you kids go inside while David and I deal with business?”

They all nod, sharing curious looks as they turn to make their way back into the building, Emma leaning closer to Regina to whisper, “Snow?” Regina shrugs in response.

“Haven’t heard anyone call her that in years.” Merida says as she moves through the building, sliding behind the bar and pouring a couple drinks, Mulan smirking when she sees the camera left unsupervised on the bar, nearly getting it in her grasp when it floats over her head, “Nice try, M.”

“Is it a nickname?” Emma asks, sitting on one of the stools, her feet hooked behind the footrests.

“Snow? Yeah I guess, it’s her codename maybe…she was Snow White and David Prince Charming, they used them when they were breaking people out back in the day.”

Mulan hops up onto the bar, smiling at Nani while Regina looks around the place before sitting anxiously at the piano, fingers tracing over the keys, “I guess the underground outside of here still refers to her as that.”

“It’s easier to say than Mary Margaret, that’s for sure,” Emma smirks and Merida rolls her eyes.

“So,” Nani speaks up, walking toward the bar to sit by Mulan, “You said you would introduce me to your family.”

Mulan blushes, “Yeah, right, so the asshole insisting to film this whole thing is Merida, my best and worst friend.”

“Fuck off.” Merida laughs, shoving a beer into her hands before giving one to Emma, “Ya want anythin?” Nani shakes her head, smiling at her nonetheless.

“That’s Regina, she saved me from one of the Tentoria facilities, she’s like my baby sister, Emma, this blonde idiot, is her soulmate, she’s nothing special.”

“Hey!”

Mulan laughs, shoving Emma playfully and smiling when Regina looks over at them, obviously lost in her own world, “Go look after your girl.”

Emma looks over at Regina and smiles, “She wants to be alone.”

“How do you–” Emma arches a brow and Mulan sighs, “Right, freaky ass connection.” She turns, smirking at Nani as she whispers, “They haven’t touched since they met four months ago and now they’re so connected they practically read each other’s minds.”

“No, we don’t…I can just feel if she wants me around and right now she doesn’t because she’s keeping me right here.” Emma looks sadly at Regina as she presses down on one of the piano keys, a small gasp leaving her mouth at the noise it makes.

“So, what happens when we touch? Nothing epic happened between my sister and Moana.”

Mulan looks at her and shrugs, “Nobody really knows…people say when Mary Margaret and David touched there were like rainbows and their eyes glowed but everyone else I’ve seen have only looked like your sister so I’m thinking it’s just a rumour since they’re mother and father to the resistance.”

Nani nods, looking around, “Do you want to?, touch I mean”

Mulan blushes, “If you want.”

Emma rolls her eyes, “You both want to touch, so like, do it?”

Mulan shoves her and Merida glares, “Kid, you need to learn what a moment is.”

“Kid, I’ve experienced several moments only from Regina to pull back, I think I’m more experienced than all of you so like, trust me, touch now because this whole not touching thing really hurts.”

“C’mon, let’s see how the youngins are settling,” Mulan says, leaping from the countertop and holding out her hand to Nani, smile welcoming and Nani stares at her hand for a long moment before she meets Mulan’s eyes and slowly reaches out, hands hovering over each other before finally letting it fall into Mulan’s, and it’s like the room stills and their emotions seep into them and then, to Emma’s surprise, Mulan’s eyes flash orange for a moment before she pulls Nani in for a long hug.

“Did you see that?” Emma whispers to Merida who nods slowly, “Orange, right? You saw them change? I’m not like–”

“No, kid, you’re not crazy.”

“Cool…” Emma breathes, looking back at Regina who is watching them with wide eyes, “You okay?” Emma asks and Regina pastes on a smile and nods before looking back down at the piano. “I’m going to go check on Henry and maybe see the puppy…wanna join me?” Emma’s eyes are locked onto Regina’s and to her surprise, she shakes her head no, “Okay, well I’ll see you in our room later?” Regina nods, pressing down on another key a moment later before a few others, and…it’s a cord, Emma didn’t know she could play, though Emma’s also pretty sure Regina didn’t know she could play either judging by the shock displayed on her features.

Emma watches her for a few moments longer before she leads the way toward Moana’s room where she’s sure Henry and the girls are, looking back when she hears the others following after her, she doesn’t feel Regina following, she can just feel their connection easily letting her leave…it hurts more sometimes when there’s no fight from it.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Emma breathes when Regina slides into their room later that evening, their eyes locking instantly, “Ready to talk about it?”

Regina sighs, moving to sit on the sofa by her bed, shrugging as she pulls the pillow into her lap and hugs it against her chest. **“I don’t know…it’s just…I expected it to be…more I guess.”**

Emma moves across the room, perching herself at the end of Regina’s bed as she looks at her, “what’s so wrong with it not being this big thing? Isn’t that less scary that it doesn’t actually do anything but change your eyes back?”

Regina shrugs again, **“Whenever I pictured it…I don’t know, it was special and then it’s just…”**

“Maybe it’s different when you’re the one actually experiencing it?”

**“Maybe…I just thought considering what it’s already like.”**

Emma smiles, “Hey, we’re already unlike anyone else so maybe we’ll be like the rumours of how David and Mary Margaret’s experience was…all rainbows and shit,” She snickers, “If anyone deserves bursts of rainbows it would be us…” Regina meets her eyes, eyebrows furrowing in confusion, “Cause we’re gay?” Regina blinks, “Fuck, Reggie, do I gotta educate you on the history of the LGBTQIA+ community too?” Regina’s head tilts slightly and Emma sighs, “Okay! Well, I’ll add that onto the list after pop culture and swear words.”

Regina rolls her eyes, “Idiot.”

“See! You’re even saying them now!” Regina throws the pillow at her and Emma catches it with a laugh. “So, besides the soulmate thing what else is going on in that big brain of yours?”

**“Snow.”**

“I take it you mean Mary Margaret’s nickname and not the weather?” Regina nods and Emma shrugs, “You heard Merida, it was her codename back in her rebel with a cause days.”

 **“No, it’s not that…well not really,”** Regina purses her lips, running her hands along her pants, **“I’ve heard mother mention it before, in a distant memory I remember her ranting about Snow and Doctor Gold saying she wasn’t anything to worry about.”**

“You sure she wasn’t talking about the weather?” Regina arches a brow, “Okay, so she was talking about Mary Margaret but like…that’s not too big of a surprise since she and David did like found the underground which was –and is again?–” Emma shakes her head to clear her thoughts, “right so like they’re actively trying to destroy everything your mother built so of course your mom would be talking about them…that’s all, they were prob just getting on her nerves or whatever.”

 **“Maybe…”** Regina sighs before her eyes raise to meet Emma’s again, **“It’s nice actually talking to you again.”**

“Much better than writing on paper.” Regina nods, before looking up at Emma with nervous eyes, “What’s wrong?”

**“Can you just lay next to me while I go to sleep?”**

“Of course. Go get ready for bed I’ll be right here.”

Regina nods before she slips off the couch, slowly walking toward the bathroom, glancing back at Emma one more time before closing the door.

Emma crawls up the bed and gets comfortable as she waits for Regina, looking up when she hears the door open, her breath catches in her throat and her jaw drops open when Regina enters their room, still haloed by the bathroom light as she steps in wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear. “Uh, Reg, you um…trying to kill me?”

Regina blushes, **“I don’t seem to have pajamas in there…”**

“Oh…” Emma is sure by the heat on her face she probably resembles a lobster in colouring, “Right, that’s c-ool.” She blushes deeper when she hears her voice crack on the last word and Regina giggles.

**“You okay, Miss Swan?”**

“Great,” Emma squeaks as her eyes run down the long expanse of Regina’s bare legs, and trying not to spend too much time thinking about that Miss Swan thing, especially since she can see Regina’s pencil skirt draped over the couch from where they left it while packing to leave last month. “You coming to bed?”

“Mhmm.” Regina grins before flicking off the light and moving toward the bed, sudden teasing gone as her hands keep brushing anxiously over her bare legs.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Emma can’t help but say and Regina stops at the side of the bed, blush colouring her cheeks before she bows her head shyly pushing her hair back from her face. “You’re cute when you blush.”

Regina looks up at her and tries for a glare but her pink-hued cheeks do little for the effect and Emma’s heart just swoons at the adorable sight. **“I hate you.”**

“I love you too. Now come to bed.” Regina sighs and slips under the heavy covers, instantly curling on her side so she’s facing Emma who’s reclining on top of the duvet, eyes watching her intently, Regina can feel them tracing over her features like a gentle caress.

“I love you.”

Emma smiles down at her, reaching out so her fingers hover over her arm, creating that tingling as their connection responds, “I know, I love you too, babe.”

Regina sighs, burrowing under the covers a little more, “don’t leave me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Regina sighs again and Emma watches as she relaxes, she knows she’s not asleep yet, Regina never falls asleep quickly but she’s relaxed and that’s not always a common occurrence so Emma lets out her own sigh, placing her hand down between them as she turns on her side to better watch Regina as she slowly falls asleep and Emma stays right next to her until she feels her eyelids start to flutter only then does she move to the couch to sleep by her for the night.

 

* * *

 

 

Regina stares out the back window of the van as they pull away, Henry tucked into Mary Margaret’s side as he waves them goodbye, and she’s pretty sure she can hear her heart break when she watches him wipe away tears with the back of his hand.

“He’s going to be okay,” Emma soothes and Regina looks at her with tear-filled eyes, “I promise, he’s a strong kid and we’ll be back before he knows it!”

Regina sighs and leans back into her seat next to Emma in the back, staring out the side window now, watching the city fly by as David plays old school rock music from the van speakers and Merida mutters about not enough planning to Mulan leaning between the front seats to talk to the two up front.

“Why does it always feel like we’re their children?” Regina shrugs, and Emma sighs, moving her hand to rest between them on the seat, “I hate leaving him again too…” Regina meets her eyes, smile faint as she moves her hand next to Emma’s and they both go to looking out the windows, wrapped up in their own world together.

They hit up three transports and one facility in the time they’re gone this time, using the network to get the people back to a safehouse. They’re gone for two weeks and every night they work on how they’ll hit that damn Level 3 facility, Mulan and David constantly bickering and Emma and Regina rolling their eyes but still after every talk Regina curls up into a small ball on the back seat and Emma sits on the floor, close by but making sure they don’t touch, David doesn’t like driving like that but Emma constantly tells him to shove it…they’ve just started pulling over at night. Regina texts with Henry every day and the device that Henry had set up with the speech software makes it so she can at least be a part of their discussions so that when they do enter the town that houses this place they’re completely ready.

“It’s so quaint.”

**“Did that sign say the house of the teddy bears?”**

Emma nods, “Also said population of 500 which seems impossible in this day and age…”

“I think we’ve entered the twilight zone…” Mulan mutters looking out the window at a giant statue of a teddy bear.

 **“Hey, at least Gold would hate this place.”** They all look over at Regina with shocked expressions, **“What, he’s a heartless monster that always complained that the painted wall made him queasy.”**

“He sounds like a perfectly stable person,” Emma mutters, face contorted in hatred.

Regina hums as she looks out the window, there are so little people.

“There’s no blending in here so we might as well just head right there.”

 **“What, you think we’ll stand out amongst a bunch of people who seemingly worship a giant teddy bear?”** the automated voice sends the obvious sarcasm home which results in the rest of them breaking out into laughter while Regina smiles proudly to herself even though she continues to stare anxiously out the window at the passing town.

“It’ll be okay.” Emma breathes and places her hand so it's hovering over Regina’s, “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“I love you, Emma Swan.” Regina smiles but her eyes look scared and unsure and Emma moves her thumb so it feels like it’s brushing over Regina’s knuckles.

“I love you too.” Regina sighs, leaning her head back on the seat and turning it so it’s close to Emma.

 

* * *

 

“We’re here.” David states and Regina opens her eyes, her heart plummeting in her chest as she sees the building, somewhere in there was probably Doctor Gold and other people that tortured her every day for 12 long years.

“You okay?” Emma asks and Regina turns to force on a smile that she knows Emma won’t buy for a second, “You look really pale, you sure you wanna do this? You can like stay in the van…”

**“I’m sure, I have my part to play.”**

“David is more than capable.”

“I can do it, Emma.” Regina's voice is hard and final and as soon as she registers Emma’s hurt expression she feels her stomach twist guiltily, “Emma…” She sighs feeling her throat restrict, “I’m sorry.” She forces out, eyes pleadingly meeting Emma’s, **“I’m just a little on edge.”**

“I know…it’s okay, Regina.” Emma smiles softly at her leaning closer, “I fucking love you.”

Regina blushes and rolls her eyes, patting her own chest before moving her hand to hover above Emma’s, leaving it there as they shared their quiet conversation.

“I got your back, Reggie, promise.”

“I love you…” Regina breathes before she pulls back when the van door slides open, looking at Mulan as she climbs out of it, **“Ready, sexy?”**

Emma snickers, “As I’ll ever be…”

Regina gets up, moving to the doors of the van and hopping out as she looks at Mulan staring anxiously up at the building. “It’s very similar and yet nothing compared to ours…” Regina nods, looking back as Emma slams the van door. “We can do this, they can’t rule our lives forever.” Mulan says all while taking Regina’s hand in hers and squeezing it, offering as much support as she can and Regina gives it back with her own squeeze.

“Well, no time like the present to break into a high-security Tentoria facility to break out a max of six people while also facing some past demons.” They all look at David with similar expressions of exasperation, “Just saying, this should be the hardest thing we’ve ever done as a team and there’s no point in sugar coating it.”

“I’d appreciate some sugar coating, to be honest…” Emma mutters looking at the place.

They all let out a sigh as they just continue staring up at it, “Let’s go, we’re at more risk of being caught the longer we stand around worrying about getting caught.” Mulan states but her voice just sounds exhausted.

“Avengers assemble?” David chuckles at Emma’s poor try at a joke before they start trekking toward the building, Regina and David neutralizing the guards at the gate instantly…it really should be harder. “Why does this feel too easy?”

“I imagine they’re better protected on the inside…”

“They are,” Mulan mutters and Regina flashes back to the security codes and guards and cameras and…they’re doomed.

 **“Hey, asshole.”** Regina says before punching a guard in the face making him fall to the floor like a ton of bricks, **“He hit me once.”** Emma kicks him in the nuts.

“He hit you once.” Emma shrugs as she kicks him once more before running to catch up, Regina smiling at her goofily.

“Would you guys like, stay on base?” Mulan mutters, snatching the guys ID from his uniform.

After they get passed the gate and the dick, things get a little messier to say the least, there’s a rush of guards but they only slow them down a little. Emma is a pretty good fighter so Regina only has to save her a couple times before they break down a wall, knowing it’s easier to get in that way than through the front in a place as high security as this.

A woman is on the other side of the wall, eyes wide and panicked, “Mulan take her!” Merida calls out and Mulan holds out her hand to the unsure woman.

“We’re here to help, come with me, I’ll protect you.” The woman takes her hand and Mulan quickly leads her away while Regina moves to the middle of the room, she and David both closing their eyes as they feel the energy around them to see where anyone else is.

 **“I got the door and the others you break out the two on this side.”** David nods and starts busting down the wall next to them while Regina smirks as she pushes her arms forward and the door gets a massive dent in the middle like a wrecking ball hit it and a second later it falls to the floor and Regina steps on it as she moves into the hallway, smiling sweetly at the guard…although the look isn’t soothing as much as frightening as she watches the man gulp, “Boo.” He scrambles, tripping over his own feet as he makes a beeline for the door.

“Did…did a grown ass man just ran out of here from boo?”

Regina laughs, breaking down both the doors. Merida and Emma greet them and help them out of the room, the last room Regina goes to is empty and they’re sure that’s it when David rushes back into the hallway, “There’s one in tests!”

 **“What?”** Regina looks pale for a moment before she looks toward the door so much like the one she was walked through every day for her own tests, **“Where?”**

“Second floor. I’ll go with you.” Regina nods before reaching her hand out and tapping the glass, shattering it on the spot.

Regina’s eyes look around, she can feel David behind her and it’s comforting when the guards flow into the hall. Regina makes the clip fall out of the bottom of a gun and stops a bullet midair even as she ducks around it, grabbing another guard by the arm and flipping them so that his body knocks the bullet down to the floor. Everything that happens after that is mostly a blur, Regina and David work as a team as they make their way up to the second floor and then down a hall where Regina can literally feel the electricity from the electroshock chamber.

She kicks a man sending him flying back into the others behind him so that they’re just a pile on the floor and Regina turns, eyes wild as she faces the door.

“You okay?” she nods before kicking down the door.

 **“Step away from them.”** She glares at the doctor by the dial.

“They can’t do that, Regina.” A voice says over the speakers and the air in the room shifts as Regina turns to face the window, to face a man with long greying hair.

 **“David, get them out of here,”** she orders as she tosses the doctor in the room into the glass Gold is behind, and David watches Regina all while moving to the woman strapped on the table and picking her up in his arms.

“Okay, let’s go, Regina.”

“She’s not going anywhere, Mr. Nolan, are you Regina?”

**“Go, David.”**

“If you think I’m leaving here without you.”

“I said go!”

“No,” David states, voice steady in certainty. “He’s not important.”

“I can answer all your questions, child, about what you are.”

“Don’t listen to him, he knows nothing.”

 **“I know. But I won’t let him run his little experiments on any more innocent people.”** Her hands are shaking and her jaw is set, and the glass the Doctor is behind starts to crack, slowly, almost like she’s playing with him.

“You’re better than this, Regina, you’re not like them.”

**“They made me like this! They tortured me my whole life!”**

“And we’ll make them pay but not like this…think of her, she wouldn’t want you to do this.”

Regina looks back at him, eyes scared and full of tears, **“I want the nightmares to stop…if he’s gone maybe I’ll be less scared…?”**

David shifts the girl in his arms, “It won’t help, trust me.” Regina’s eyes drop to the floor for a moment before she looks back to where Gold is, hand reaching up to anxiously scratch at her scar for the first time in over a month. “C’mon, princesa, let’s go home.” Regina’s eyes meet his suddenly, tears rolling down her cheeks, the glass shatters and David watches as the controls for the electricity flies through the window and smashes to the floor right next to Gold’s head, Regina stalking closer to the trembling man.

“I’m not done with you,” She spits before turning on her heels and leading them out of the place, ruthlessly taking down every single guard she comes across with tears still actively running down her face.

When they finally make it out of the building Mulan and Merida are holding off a bunch of guards and Emma is holding up a woman in ratty clothes looking about ready to fall over.

Regina looks around at the chaos, and turns to David, **“Escort Emma back to the van with them, we got it from here.”** David nods before moving toward her.

“C’mon, kid, you’re with me.”

Emma puts more of the woman’s weight against her as she turns to smile at Regina but stops when she sees the tears, Regina sends her a little nudge like she did all those months back and Emma nods before moving behind David.

 **“Is everyone safe?”** Regina asks, looking around for anyone else.

“Yes, that’s everyone.”

Regina nods, looking around the space as she makes three people collide into each other, **“Let’s start making our way to the van then.”**

They nod before they start fighting, Merida and Mulan taking up the front while Regina covers them, getting held back a bit as she is forced to disarm three guards all while fighting with another, landing a kick to the woman’s gut and sending her flying into a group of them, Regina is smirking to herself until she feels someone behind her, before she can strike a hand covers her mouth and arms wrap around her middle, Regina tries to fight them off but then suddenly she was out cold, the only thing she is able to make out as she passes out are striking pale blue eyes as the mystery person lifts her up and carries her away.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma sits in the passenger seat of the van, legs crossed under her as she stares at the chaos happening just beyond the fence, she sees a man go flying and deep in her heart she knows that was Regina’s doing, she probably shouldn’t be proud that her girlfriend is currently mangling people but she does and honestly she tries to not think too much on it. David is sitting next to her, leaning around the seats to talk with their newest rescues but Emma finds the battle in front of her much more interesting and not just because she’s anxiously awaiting Regina’s return, anxiety twisting in her chest, and that’s probably her least favourite part of this whole thing but it always goes away when Regina comes back to her with the proudest smile on her face that warms Emma from head to toe.

Emma starts subconsciously rubbing at her chest where it aches, eyes not leaving the building towering in front of them. She glances over at David, frowning slightly as she remembers the ache she felt in her chest earlier too, wondering why Regina was crying she asks, her focus on a few more flying bodies, “What happened earlier? With Regina?”

David hums, looking at her instead of the bunch in the back, “We ran into him…” Emma’s eyes shoot over to him, she winces as her chest twinges in response, “I handled it, she’s okay but it was a close call…”

Emma purses her lips, swallowing thickly as she drops her hands in her lap, fiddling with her fingers, “He didn’t try and hurt her, did he?”

“She tried to hurt him.”

Emma turns her ducked head to glance at him subtly, “Would it be wrong if I wish she had?”

“No, I would feel the same if I faced the person who tortured Mary Margaret her whole life…” David sighs, reaching out to rest his hand on her knee, “She did scare him good though.”

Emma nods, looking back up the gravel path, air was hard to get and she didn’t understand why, she figures it’s the anxiety, it’s not unusual from how she usually feels so she brushes it off, watches chaos and hears gunshots and yelling and she jumps every time a gun goes off and David squeezes her knee once more before she notices him shift again, watching the strangers in the back, two of them fussing over the trembling girl David carried here.

“Where are they?!” She asks anxiously, sticking her head out the window as her leg bounces anxiously, hand going back up to her chest.

“They’re coming,” David reassures, it’s only been like 15 minutes…this isn’t out of the ordinary.

“I don’t like this,” Emma mutters, trying to spot Regina somehow in the mess of bodies…a mess of tiny dots really, they’re not exactly parked very close.

“It's fine, Emma.”

Emma sighs, closing her eyes away from the pain that shoots through her chest, hand trying to rub it away, “Something's…not right.”

“You’re just worried Emma, everything is fine.”

Emma looks over at him and realizes he’s probably right, it’s probably just that they have guns this time…guns they’re not afraid to use…she’s sure Regina is just anxious and filled with adrenaline and that’s why it feels like this. She goes back to staring out the windshield, still absentmindedly rubbing at her chest but she shakes it off, it’s obviously just hers and Regina’s emotions mingling…it’s not a first.

There’s a sudden tug in her chest that doesn’t sit right with her but it’s gone so soon that she figures Regina was just startled because it’s gone as suddenly as it came, her chest easing slightly and she relaxes a smidgen, sure that Regina is going to push out of the crowd any minute now…except one minute turns into ten and they’re officially been fighting for 25 minutes alone and now her gut is twisting and her heart is thudding wildly and the hair on the back of her neck is sticking up…like when Regina had that nightmare, she can feel something deep inside of her that screams trouble.

“David, something isn’t right…I can feel it.”

He looks at her with sad eyes before pushing open his door and standing on the edge of the van to look across the distance, “I don’t see anything, kiddo.”

“That’s ‘cause we’re like 20 feet away,” Emma snaps and gets a worried glance from the man as he lowers himself back in the van.

“The binoculars are in the glove compartment if you’re so worried.”

Emma sighs, the man’s eyes trained on the chaos like hers, sits back in her seat, leg bouncing anxiously for another minute until there’s that sharp twinge again and she shoots upright and pulls out the binoculars and looks through them, adjusting them until she can clearly see a few of the guards and her heart leaps in her chest when she spots Merida’s red hair between a group of guards, so she moves her focus elsewhere to look for Regina and Mulan when suddenly it feels like she was punched square in the chest making her gasp and cough as she yanks the binoculars away to rub at it again.

“Something’s wrong, David…really wrong,” Emma gasps out when she feels the man soothingly rubbing her back, “I don’t like this…we need to go get them.”

“It’s okay, Emma, just breathe,” He says in a calming voice and Emma glances sideways at him as she tries to breathe through the fear twisted around her heart…she doesn’t think she’s ever felt fear like this before.

“No, this isn’t right.”

“It’s just a panic attack, Emma.”

“No, no,” Emma shakes her head at that…it doesn’t feel like her fear…it feels like…their connection squeezes tightly around Emma and then pulls, once, not that hard and Emma tilts her head up to look through the windshield, spots Mulan and Merida running toward her but no Regina, and then there’s another hard yank that if it was an actual rope around her she probably would be pressed to the windshield right now from the force behind it. “Dav–” something twists and pulls, like something deep in her is fighting, fighting hard to break free and Emma pushes away David’s hands and blindly reaches for the door handle, “Where is she?! Do you see her?”

“Em–”

“Something is wrong!” She yells to David as she pushes open the passenger door, the fear and the aching pain in her chest so intense it almost makes her pass out and she tumbles out of the van onto her hands and knees, not caring as rocks dug in through her jeans and tear into the skin of her hands as she scrambles up onto her feet. Stumbling as she tries to run back toward the building she just escaped, “Regina!” Emma calls out, her movements sloppy and staggered as her chest twists and then it vanishes and she stands there, swaying on her feet as nausea sets in, making tears roll down her cheeks, “Regina!” She exclaims, stumbling forward again toward where she can see Merida and Mulan, “Where is she?!” She demands, tripping over her own feet, her limbs feel oddly heavy and she feels herself falling again, the rocks digging into her hands again and she feels warm blood covering them as strong arms pull her off the ground.

“Emma…” David tries, Emma going limp in his hold, sorrow filling her whole being before she feels a twinge in her chest, small but present and she wriggles free, running unsteadily toward the fast approaching women once again. “Emma stop, she’s fine, she’s coming.”

“No she’s not! Something is wrong!”

“Emma!” Mulan exclaims, catching her as she stumbles and grips onto Mulan’s jacket, some part of her in the back of her mind telling her to let go, that she’s getting blood all over the woman but the rest of her doesn’t care. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She pulls back to look at Mulan urgently, “Regina! Where is she?!”

Mulan blinks, looking behind her, “She’s…she was right behind us a second ago.”

Emma starts shaking her head, she can feel the pull around her heart fighting against separation once more. “No…no…this can’t be happening!” Emma violently yanks away from Mulan’s hold and ends up falling on her ass, and she stares helplessly up at them, “I shouldn’t have left her alone…”

“No…” Mulan says brokenly, eyes lost as she looks back at the building to see the rush of guards, “No, it was my job to protect her, I let her down, not you.”

Merida is staring up at the building, shaking her head as she says disgruntled “We need to move, now. They’re coming.”

“But Regina! I’m not leaving without her!”

David yanks her up from the gravel road again, Emma trying to fight him off but this time to no avail, “Not like this, you can barely keep yourself standing.”

“I’m fine! Let me go!” Emma cries, flailing her body like Mulan taught her so she could throw David off enough to drop her except the man didn’t even sway slightly. “Regina! She needs me! Let. Me. Go!”

“We’ll go looking for her, okay, just…” Mulan reassures, placing her hand on Emma’s arm and a second later Emma goes limp in his hold, her cries agonizing as she just feels empty. “Get her to the van and the rest to safety!” Mulan says to David and he nods caring her back to the van, Mulan and Merida following after him.

“She’s gone…she’s not close…I…I can barely feel her…something is wrong!”

“Shhh, kiddo, it’s all going to be alright, I promise we will get her back.” David promises as he kisses Emma’s head and buckles her up into the passenger seat, “I’m going to look for Regina you get everyone to safety, I’ll meet you at our rendezvous spot in an hour. If I’m not there, you know what to do.”

Merida nods her head, reaching out to hold Emma’s hand for a moment before pulling it back to start the engine and pulling out as soon as the doors are shut and Mulan is safely in the back, her hand locked into Emma’s in a painful grip.

“We’ll find her, Swan, I promise you. I won’t let her down.” Emma sobs more, her chest feels empty…she feels empty.

_Regina, please, you can’t leave me…please don’t leave me before I even got to hug you, to shower you with the love you deserve…please don’t leave us._

Emma curls into a small ball in the front seat.

Mulan uses her free hand to call Mary Margaret, the woman picking up quickly, “Hey, Mary Margaret, we uh…” Emma chooses that moment to wail painfully again, “We have a problem and we need an extraction team for our guests.”

“What’s going on?! Is that Emma?!”

“Yeah, something happened, Regina’s missing…David is out looking for her but…Emma’s in bad shape.”

“I…I hurt, Mulan…everything hurts.” Emma cries and Mulan has to bite her lip to keep herself from crying too.

“Get a rush on it I want to be out looking for Regina again within the hour! And maybe send a team back to the facility in case David needs a hand.”

“Okay…” Mary Margaret breathes, voice quiet yet tone demanding. “You bring them home alright! I refuse to tell Henry he lost another mother!”

“I promise I won’t let that happen…none of us will, we won’t stop fighting until she’s home.” Emma squeezes her hand and Mulan leans forward, pressing her head to the back of Emma’s seat, “I won’t lose anyone else, Mary Margaret.”

“I know, I know…neither will I,” she pauses, a depressed sigh leaving her mouth, “The team is heading your way, they will meet you at your reported pickup site within the next hour.”

“Thank you.”

“Bring my husband home, Mulan…and Regina, I refuse to let that girl down again.”

“Me too,” Mulan says before hanging up the phone, Emma barely having enough brain power to understand what is happening besides the fact that she feels numb…completely and utterly numb…

 

* * *

 

They are waiting at the truck stop outside of the small town, Emma pacing back and forth waiting for David to return for Regina to come back to her because she still has a queasy feeling in her gut and she still feels like a part of her is missing…a disconnect that she’s sure she’s never felt before or maybe she just didn’t notice what it was like without Regina until she was no longer close by. Everything hurts but she also doesn’t feel a thing. Her head feels foggy and her limbs a little heavy but her heart is beating so fast she’s worried she might drop dead at any minute from a heart attack.

She was sure she could feel every second tick by without Regina…she misses her…her body aches but not in the way it should, not from their connection demanding they get closer, she would kill for that right about now, but this pain, this full body pain is from sobbing and fighting and screaming. Her hands and knees are bandaged with gauze thanks to Mulan who has yet to acknowledge the blood staining her clothes, no, she’s just sitting on a picnic table top staring at her phone hoping it’ll ring with news of something, _anything_.

Emma can’t stop the fear that fills her whole being and honestly she’d rather be anywhere but here, she’d rather be out looking for Regina and not waiting for a convoy in a creepy old rest stop.

“Merida, anything?” Mulan’s voice meets her ears and Emma turns to look toward the red-haired woman standing at the start of the road with their binoculars watching out for David.

“They’re not close,” Emma mutters, kicking a stone and watching it skitter across the cracked pavement, “Or at least he doesn’t have Regina with him.”

“I don’t see anything,” Merida informs forlornly. “What time is it?”

“Give him another 20.”

Merida looks back at Mulan whose eyes are still glued to her phone screen. “M, what time is it?”

Mulan’s sad eyes meet Merida’s and Emma is suddenly scared for another reason, “I said give him more time!”

“You know if it’s past the meet–”

“I don’t fucking care about the rules, Merida! I won’t leave a man behind! I’m not losing anyone fucking else today!”

“We have people to look out for!”

“Then you fucking leave! I’m not going anywhere!”

Emma’s head whips back and forth between the two, anger flaring in Mulan’s eyes and twitching in her clenched jaw.

“And let you get captured again, no way!”

“Then we wait an extra 20! He’ll be here…”

Emma frowns, David can’t be missing too! “What’s going on?! What’s happening?! Are they just picking us off one by one like some twisted horror movie?!”

Mulan sighs, meeting Emma’s frightened eyes with ones that look exhausted, “No, Emma, we’ll be fine…”

“You don’t sound very sure…” Emma walks closer to her, looking back at Merida who is watching the road again but her posture is almost wilted, “This isn’t good is it?”

Mulan runs a hand through her hair, somber expression as she slowly shakes her head, “No, Emma, it’s not good.”

“We should go find Regina, David can find his way home if he’s okay and if he’s locked up in there, Regina is our best chance at getting him out,” Emma states, speaking rationally even if her whole body feels ready to collapse in on itself, sucked into a black hole of despair. “It’s what he would want too, and you know that.”

Mulan looks back down at her phone before shaking her head at herself, “Anything, Mer?”

“Nothing…” Merida’s voice has lost all emotion, monotone, like life has been sucked out of her.

“We move then, we know he would want us to make sure she was safe.”

Merida nods looking desperately at the empty road, like she was urging it to bring David to them, Regina to them.

“Now what? I can’t even feel her!”

Merida and Mulan look sadly at her before both letting out disjointed sighs, “We drive around until you do.”

“What if–”

“You’d know.”

“But I do know, you didn’t feel…you don’t feel…” Tears rolled down Emma’s cheeks, “I don’t _feel_ her, at all. After all this time of constantly knowing where she was and how she was feeling…there is nothing, Mulan, the last thing I felt from her was utter terror,” Emma couldn’t hold in the hiccupped sob, that feeling of helplessness and terror filling her up again, “I feel so alone.”

Mulan moves quick, pulling Emma into her, into a strong hug, “They wouldn’t hurt her, she’s too important to them…if they were going to kill her they would have done it during the last 12 years,” Mulan pulls back, cupping Emma’s face in her hands, “We’ll find her, Emma, we’ll bring her home, because I won’t stop at anything until she’s safely back with you.”

“What if I never get to hold her?”

Mulan wipes away Emma’s tears with her thumbs, “I promise you, we’ll find Regina and when we do you can hold her and never let go again…if she lets you.”

Emma’s lips quirk with a smile and she slowly nods, “Okay, I’m okay, let’s go! I won’t let anything hold me back! I’m gonna find her! We’re gonna bring her home.”

“We will,” Mulan promises before dropping her hands from Emma’s face, “Let’s go, Merida.”

The woman sighs and nods, moving toward the minivan and hopping into the back, letting Emma have the passenger seat without their usual fight. “You need to give directions,” Merida offers with a slightly broken smile that Emma returns before she gets in the passenger seat, looking at Mulan as she starts the engine.

“Choose a direction, Emma.”

“Right?”

“Okay,” Mulan shrugs and turns right down the road, glancing in her mirrors just to double check that David wasn’t coming but still nothing.

 

* * *

 

Ringing in her ears, that’s the first thing she notices followed almost instantly by the fogginess in her brain, it must have taken her minutes to realize how heavy and dry her tongue feels in her mouth, and that breathing is actual work, hard agonizing work as each brain cell fights on what to focus on more, breath or what is going on. It’s when she tries to move that she realizes just how hard it is, that it feels like every muscle in her body has just stopped answering to her.

She groans, the sound weird to her own ears as she tries to get up only for a loud whimper to leave her as her body refuses to do what she wants it to. She doesn’t like this…she wants to go home.

_Okay, open your eyes, Regina. Start with that, just open your eyes to see where you are._

_But it hurts…_ her mind whines in response, a steady thumping in her brain as she tries to account for every single part of her body, it’s hard and all it does is bring forth the frightening memories of what it was like to wake up after a decidedly brutal course of electroshock therapy. She wants to curl up in a ball, wrap herself up securely, tight enough that she’s the reason for her lack of air and not this invisible weight upon her chest. She doesn’t like this, this unknown, and as her brain slowly starts to put things together, to categorize everything, one horrifying thing registers in her brain; she can barely feel Emma, she’s like a flutter in her soul, almost like a dying flame. And she suddenly hates herself for never holding Emma when she had the chance, because she might never get it now.

She wants to stand up, to go to Emma, and she tries, her brain screaming at her limbs but her legs only move an inch and her fingers only twitch before everything in her just gives up. She tries to open her eyes, she is almost sure that’s more work than moving or breathing but when she manages to squint them open everything is moving and bright, overloading her senses and making her feel like she’s going to be sick. A painful whimper, more agonizing than the first, breaking out deep from in her chest as she snaps her eyes back shut, pleading with her hands to work and cover up her eyes, pleading with the universe… _Please, make it stop. I’ll be good, just make it stop._ Her thoughts create a dull thudding in her chest, and she dry heaves and she can feel tears violently rushing over her cheeks, rolling toward her ear and over her nose, and that’s when a second thing comes back to her, slamming into her like a freight train, the startling ice blue eyes…they looked just like her mother’s. She manages to curl up in a ball then, tight and small as she finally registers cool wood under her body and a clanking noise past the loud ringing in her ears.

“You’re awake,” a female voice says, accented in a way almost similar to Gold’s, maybe even Rogers’. Regina doesn’t recognize it but she’s not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, the only thing she’s able to do is whimper again, small and scared like a cornered puppy. “Hey, relax,” It says, worried and demanding at the same time.

_I’ll be good. I’ll be good. I’ll be good. Please don’t hurt me, I promise, I’ll be good, I won’t run away, I won’t fight just please, please._

A hand touches her arm and she leaps, scrambling until her back violently slams into something, she can feel her powers trying to push to protect her but she knows them at full power, she knows when they strike, she can feel it in the air around her, but she this time the only change in the air is from the breathe she knocks out of herself when she hits the hard surface behind her…it’s so cold even through her sweatshirt, she pulls her legs in tighter, fingers digging in until it hurts and her neck straining and twinging in protest for how tightly it’s tucked into her knees, her back is throbbing from the bottom of her spine all the way to the top, the three vertebrae that got the whole brunt of her momentum twinging as she vaguely wonders if the warmth on her back is actual blood or just from the bruise that must be forming there.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

The voice is distant, cautionary, and Regina doesn’t trust the words spoken for a moment, she just knows it’s one of mothers tricks, she knows how to play Mother’s games, stay small and quiet, don’t fight back, act as defenceless as a newborn baby. _I’ll be good. I’ll be good. I’ll be good._

She hears footsteps retreating and when she no longer hears them, hears anything, she tries to force her eyes open again, tries to use her powers to see the room, look for movement and change in the air but all she does is get a flash of the little corner she’s in and the throbbing in her mind intensifies and the ringing in her ears becomes almost deafening.

She’s not sure how long it takes for the pain to subside and her eyes to actually respond but when they do it’s very bright again and she snaps them shut, taking deep breaths before trying for a third time and she almost wants to celebrate when they open and register more than blinding light. Her eyes shoot around what appears to be a living room, she sees table legs and the stand of a lamp, everything wooden…like a cabin, like the one Emma took them to, but this one is barer, less character to it. It’s as her eyes are tracing along the room that she spots her, sitting primly on the couch, legs crossed, skin pale, limbs long, and her hair, long and red like Merida’s, down to the curls tumbling past her shoulders. There’s something oddly familiar about her, in the jut of her chin, in the ridge of her brow, in the shape of her cheekbones and the height of her forehead.

“What is this _thing_?” The woman asks, like she knows Regina is watching her and so Regina’s eyes are drawn down to the woman’s hands as they twist and flip around the device in her hands, lips pursed in a way that seems familiar again but she doesn’t understand why.

Regina blinks at her, wondering if she’s supposed to answer, what will happen if she does…is it a trap?

The woman sighs, looking at Regina, their eyes locking and Regina instinctively scrambles back again, pulling further away when she sees those eyes, mother’s eyes but…

 **“Who are you?!”** Regina gasps when the device speaks, she didn’t mean to do it and the woman startles, looking from the device to Regina then back to it.

“The name’s Zelena, I’m your sister…well half-sister? But that doesn’t really matter does it?”

Regina frowns, eyes curious as they look over her, **“What do you want with me?”**

“Mother sent me to bring you home.”

Regina’s eyes instantly go cold, angry, a sneer on her face, **“They will find me, they’ll stop at nothing.”**

“No they won’t, I made sure of that.”

Regina pushes up so she’s sitting in the corner, legs still pulled to her chest but if a look could kill she’s sure this one would do the job just fine. **“I can promise you, they will find me, and when they do you’re in a world of hurt.”**

Zelena frowns, looking down at the device speaking to her instead of at Regina, “I won’t let them, neither will mother, they won’t ever find you again.”

**“Emma will stop at nothing to find me! And when she does she will tear you limb from limb! You’re lucky I am weakened or else you’d be scattered across this room like beef stew!”**

“What?” Zelena frowns at her, “Who is this, Emma? Is she the one who hurt you?”

 **“What?”** They both blink at each other, identical frowns etching over their faces and as Regina stares at this woman she knows why those features are familiar, she looks like mother…like so many of the parts Regina despises about herself…and yet the things Emma loves…Emma. She knows tears are falling down her cheeks again, from the thought of the woman, of the incident when Emma tried to make her Ingrid’s famous beef stew…she would never forget Rogers’ horrified shriek at the mess or the way Jefferson cried about his ruined croak pot…or whatever it was called. Of loving eyes and the feeling of safety, she wanted her, she wanted to search her out, to hold onto her and never let go. **“Emma would never hurt me.”** She answers with a hard yet certain look etched over her young features.

“They have brainwashed you,” Zelena states under her breath, frown sharp.

**“Were you dropped on your head as a baby?! Nobody has brainwashed me!”**

“They have, you think these people care for you, but they don’t! They’re the enemy!” Zelena frowns cradling the device in her hands as she leans forward, locking her eyes with Regina, “Mother warned me they might have done this to you.”

**“You’re insane!”**

“This is called Stockholm syndrome, Regina, it’s when you fall for your captors.”

Regina laughs, wild and sudden, so much so that she actually scares herself, **“What has she done to you?!”**

“Nothing, it’s you that has been manipulated. I’m here to save you, Regina, bring you home so we can all be a family.”

Regina shakes her head, **“You can’t actually be serious? You think the founder of the Tentoria actually wants to have a big happy family with me? An Aberrant?!”**

“No, of course not! I said mother wants to be a family.”

 **“I know what you said, you idiot! She’s the founder, the creator! She–”** Regina’s jaw clenches in anger, feels the air crackle around her, **“She did this to me!”**

“No, the Tentoria did.”

Regina groans, tearing her hands through her hair, **“Mother is the Tentoria! What do I have to do to get that through that thick skull of yours?!”**

“You’re confused, Regina,” She tries to soothe, hands reaching out placatingly.

**“No, I believe that’s you.”**

Zelena sighs, standing up and Regina follows her eyes as she moves to sit in front of her, “I’m not going to hurt you, this is a safe space.”

Regina watches her, rakes her eyes over freckled cheeks and hair and she’s confused because she looks sincere, and as she stares into her eyes for the first time, decided to face the fear of looking into eyes just like Mothers, she notices it, the slight difference in design of her eyes, and she feels like her world was flipped over suddenly, swaying yet perfectly still as she feels it, the hum, the tingling, the weight, the thing making it so hard to access her powers…it’s, her eyes widen, head shaking slowly as she says, “You’re Aberrant too.”

Zelena tilts her head, looking down at Regina’s phone in her hand and then to Regina, unsure why those words, sound so…broken, “I don’t understand…why is that a surprise to you?”

**“I just never thought Mother would willingly let an Aberrant walk free…to get me.”**

“Why wouldn’t she? She’s from the Underground, she’s the one they call Snow White.”

 **“And I thought she fucked me up…”** Regina sighs, slowly crossing her legs, taking in every inch of Zelena, of her sister who, from what she can see is completely unmarred and yet, **“What did she do? Perfect mind control while I was gone?”**

Zelena runs her hands over her face, eyes searching Regina’s features, she can see as her eyes linger on her scars, and Regina finds another resemblance they share, the look of confusion in the face of a world that makes no sense.

**“Mother is Tentoria, Zelena, she works with Doctor Gold and Doctor Whale running the Level 1 facility that I escaped 4 months ago.”**

Zelena is shaking her head, “No, no, you escaped today, from the Level 3, Mother…Mother sent me…she.”

**“Mother locked me up when I was 10 years old, Mother gave me these scars. Mother did this, she played you, she does that, she’s very good at spotting people's weaknesses and exploiting them. She’s the bad guy here.”**

“No, this Emma,”

 **“Emma is my soulmate!”** Regina huffs, **“She has never hurt me, she and everyone else are my family! Mother, Mother has never been my family and she never will be and as soon as she realizes just what you are she’ll do to you what she did to me.”** Zelena frowns, eyes on Regina’s scars again, **“These aren’t the only ones, and not all of them are from the facility.”** Regina unzips her sweater, the sweater that smells just slightly of Emma, letting it fall from her arms and to the floor, showing the deep scars along her arms, “Mother did this. She hurt me.” Regina growls, voice small and scared and broken but also sure, definite, nothing uncertain in her tone and then she does the unthinkable to someone who could very well be considered her enemy, she turns her back to her, lifting up her shirt to show the scars from when mother beat her with a belt, **“She did this.”**

Regina knows tears are flowing down her cheeks again, but she stays like that, back bared, scars covered by more scars, something she knows is horrifying to see because people seem to react one way to it, it’s usually horror and, tears, and she knows she’s shocked Zelena because she gasps and the air trembles and that heavy weight lessens a bit more, and with that she starts to feel Emma a little more, it’s the only thing keeping her still. **“You wanted to know what that device you’re holding is, I use it to speak because it’s very hard for me to use actual words, to utter a single one some days. When I first escaped I found it hard to speak so they got me this old computer to use to speak with, I’ve gotten better since then, but still I have my troubles so they gifted me that phone, it’s rather old, can’t be traced because of it but it does the trick, makes it so I can talk while we’re out.”**

“Why?” Zelena breathes, Regina can feel her eyes looking at the back of her head so she lowers her shirt, turns slightly and offers her a pained expression.

 **“They were scared of the things I could do with words, with sounds, after mother informed me of my dad’s death…I did things, I crumbled floors, cracked words in the walls, after that day they made a rule, none of us could speak and if we did we would be punished…I now find it hard to because for 11 years I’ve barely spoken and they drilled into me that my voice is dangerous, that I’m a monster…Emma has made me realize that they’re the monsters, that I’m not dangerous…but she’s given me the freedom to heal and get through this at my own pace, and that’s what love is, Zelena,”** Regina reaches out, resting her hand on her knee, **“Emma and Henry, everyone in the underground they showed me what a real family feels like, for the first time in my life I feel safe and loved…for the first time in my life I can’t wait for the next day, I want to live, because I have a family now, I have safety, I have love, which is something I never got from mother because she doesn’t know how to love, she’s soulless,”** Tears are rolling down Regina’s cheeks but the smile spread across her face at the thought of them, of the people she loves, well, it speaks volumes.

“I don’t understand…”

**“It’s okay, but we need to get out of here, we need to get somewhere safe before mother comes here, you, you can come back with me, be a family, we don’t need Mother, we, we can be a family…I can even help you find your soulmate.”**

Zelena’s eyes lock with hers, watery and unsure, Regina remembers what that was like, to have everything she thought she knew flipped around on her, everything different and new and just, confusing. “How do I know–”

Regina offers her a smile, the most reassuring one she can manage, “Trust me.”

Zelena sighs, drops her head like she’s given up, “She really did that to you?”

“Yes.”

“She played me? So she could get you back…so she could get back to hurting you…”

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry,” Zelena sniffles, eyes searching out Regina’s, “I just wanted a family so badly, and when she found me and told me I have a sister, a baby sister who needed me…”

**“It’s okay.”**

“I’ll make it up to you, I’ll…”

 **“Just stop whatever you’re doing that’s dampening my powers, and then we need to leave before mother gets here.”** The heavy feeling goes away and she feels free and then she’s slammed with all of Emma’s emotions, all her fear and pain and, “Em-ma…” she gasps, clutching at her chest and squeezing her eyes shut, at the pain, the strong pull.

“Are you alright?” Regina nods and Zelena places a hand on her knee like Regina had earlier it’s…soothing, “We are safe here, I’m supposed to bring you to her, she doesn’t know where we are.” Regina chuckles, because Zelena, who thought her mother was the good guy still stopped somewhere undisclosed to let her wake…she, “I didn’t want you to think something bad was happening…although I see I failed at that…and I’m so sorry, for the distress I put you in.”

Regina smiles up at her before leaning back until her back connects with the wall again, wincing when she hits the sore spot but relaxes a moment later, feels almost light as she closes her eyes, **“I need to find Emma,”** She states just before her mind searches her out, and then she sees a highway and knows Emma is looking for her, she is coming for her, and she feels instantly soothed knowing she’s okay and she knows Emma can feel it, feels her as she snaps her head to look at Mulan who is behind the wheel, the woman smiling wider than Regina has ever seen from her and, then she waves, and Regina’s heart skips in her chest as Emma starts digging in the glove compartment, pulling out a notebook David keeps in there for her.

She watches Emma start writing and it’s soothing in another way, a smile blossoming painfully on her face as she reads, **_“I feel you again, I’m hoping the feeling I’m getting means you’re doing your thing and being the amazing snoop you are! We’re coming for you, Regina, you’re going to be okay, I love you, stay safe until we get there…don't do anything I wouldn’t do.”_**

And then she just stares at the paper, like she is just waiting in case Regina wasn’t watching as she was writing it, just waiting for when the woman does and Regina sighs, _I love you too, Emma Swan._ She thinks before opening her eyes and looking at Zelena who is watching her in wonder.

**“They’re coming…just uh, when they get here let me handle things…Emma is a little overprotective and well, stay down.”**

Zelena looks unsure but she nods, looking around the room, “Are you hungry?”

Regina smiles, **“I could eat.”**

“Sandwiches? I have ham…” She stands up, looking around, “Make yourself at home…” She frowns, “Would you like some tea? I can make you some.”

**“Sure.”**

“Okay…” She looks down at Regina still leaning against the floor, “Let me help you up,”

**“I’m fine here.”**

“On the floor?”

**“Yes, I like it.”**

Zelena looks at her oddly before slowly nodding and stepping back, “Okay…I won’t be long and well just over there.” She points toward the open kitchen area awkwardly and Regina nods before the woman scurries off and Regina sighs, pulling the sweater out from under her and hugging it to her chest, breathing deeply and letting her eyes flutter closed again, she feels closer to Emma this way.

_See you soon, my love._

 

* * *

 

 

 **“She’s here,”** Regina announces as she stands in front of the door, staring at the warn wood, staring at the metal handle like suddenly she’s worried it’s all a trap, but it’s a trap she’s willing to risk if it means seeing Emma. She turns the handle, throwing the creaky old door open and staring out at an open field.

“It’s a farmhouse,” Zelena’s voice reaches her ears and Regina just stares into the distance as she feels Emma getting closer, her eyes slowly starting to water as her anticipation grows and then she sees the van the trusty old van and she runs out of the house, to the edge of the cracked stone path, her heart thudding wildly in her chest.

The van slams to a stop when the passenger door is flung open, Regina gasping as she runs toward it, prepared to catch a falling person but the world fades away when Emma jumps out, “Regina!” she calls, stopping ten feet apart staring, taking each other in.

Regina’s head tilts, hands fidgeting as she watches her. “Em-ma…”

“Regina…” Emma breathes and rushes forward until she’s right in front of her, “You’re okay…you…where are they?! How did you get away?!”

Regina smiles at her, hand reaching out to hover soothingly over her cheek, “Em-ma.”

“Regina!” Mulan yells, relieved as she and Merida walk toward them, looking around the property, “We must go before they find us.”

“They won’t find us here, I promise you.” Zelena’s voice reaches her ears and she winces, turning to look at her anxiously, “You forgot your talking thingy.”

“Who are you?!” Emma demands, stepping around Regina so she’s in front of her and Regina growls in annoyance, because Emma is the most vulnerable one of them all.

“My name is Zelena. I…this was all a misun–” Emma shoots across the space grabbing Zelena by the collar of her shirt.

“Emma!” Mulan calls, voice warning and Regina’s jaw twitches in annoyance.

 **“Unhand her, Emma!”** The device blares from Zelena’s hand and Emma glances back at her.

“I saw her! She took you!”

 **“Yes, but she didn’t know.”** Emma frowns and Regina takes a few hesitant steps forward, **“Mother played her, she’s…”** Regina meets Zelena’s anxious eyes and smiles faintly, **“She’s my sister, Emma, please, let. Her. Go.”**

Emma releases her, turning her body to fully face Regina again, towering over her now on the front porch, “She didn’t hurt you?”

 **“I’m fine, Emma, I promise, my love, I am fine.”** Tears roll down Emma’s cheeks suddenly, violently as she drops on the aged wood under her booted feet, Regina moves so she’s in front of her, crouching by her feet, grimacing slightly as her back twinges and just really happy Emma doesn’t notice in fear of the outcome, “I’m fine.”

Emma meets her eyes, lower lip wobbling, “I thought I lost you.”

“I know, darling,” She breathes, reaching out to hover her hand over Emma’s knee, “I know…”

“Sister, huh?” Emma’s brow arches up and Regina chuckles, removing her hand to scratch at her temple, Emma watching her carefully, “You sure you’re okay?” Regina nods, offering her a slightly pained smile, “Okay…we’ll talk later?” Regina bows her head a little and Emma reaches out this time, hand hovering over Regina’s knee making the woman look back up at her and share a smile.

“Can I get a hello now?” Mulan asks with a crooked smile, and when Regina really looks at her she sees how broken she looks and as she glances around she notices something else.

 **“Where’s David?”** She demands as she shoots to her feet.

They all frown, “We don’t know, he went back onto the facility grounds to find you and he never showed up to our meet-up spot.”

**“Did you call?!”**

“Voicemail…you know he turns it off during missions, stealth mode and all that.”

**“How long?”**

Emma sighs, standing up so they’re level, “We’ll find him but we had to come for you first.”

**“I was safe!”**

“We didn’t know that!”

Regina looks around at all of them, sees how absolutely broken they all look, can feel Emma’s pain deep within her gut.

“It hurt us to leave him, Regina, we waited as long as we could but not only would David want us to go after you, objectively you were the one in danger.” Regina bows her head as Mulan’s voice reaches her ears, broken, angry, and scared. She’s so focused on the sound of her voice, on Emma’s pain, on her own worries for David that she doesn’t notice Mulan approach, doesn’t know until she’s pulled against her body, strong and solid and…safe. She doesn’t notice she’s crying again, doesn’t notice how she’s clinging to Mulan for dear life. “Shhh, Regina, we’ll find him, he’ll be okay.”

“I’ll help you, I can use my contacts with Mother, maybe find out what is happening…”

Emma turns to look at the woman standing anxiously on the porch, eyes searching her face, her stance, she frowns. “You have her chin.”

“I…” Zelena frowns, “I guess.”

Emma steps back up into her face, glare threatening, “You hurt her in any way I will make you wish you were never born.”

“Nothing new there,” She deadpans and it throws Emma for a moment.

“Just, don’t cross me, lady, Regina…she’s my everything, all of these people are and I won’t have anyone hurting them.”

“I promise you, I want nothing to do with the Tentoria, if I had known,” Emma frowns, looking back to Regina who is now being hugged tightly between Mulan and Merida, “Mother said she was from the Underground, said she was this Snow White, she’s one of the first people known to ever break out of a Tentoria facility.”

“What?”

 **“What?”** Regina pulled herself free from the two at that, **“Mary Margaret is normal.”**

Zelena frowns, “I don’t know who this Mary Margaret person is but I can tell you something, Snow White was Aberrant, her story is rather popular where I grew up.”

“In England?” Mulan asks with a laugh, “You must have gotten your facts confused. Everyone knows only one soulmate is Aberrant, and we’ve all seen what David can do”

“That could be possible I suppose…” Zelena looks around the darkening area, “Why don’t you all come in, make your calls, plot your plans and I’ll make you something to eat.”

“We really don’t–”

“Mulan, shush! Food! We need it! No use to David if we starve to death!”

 **“You have won her over it seems,”** Regina smirks, gazing lovingly at Emma, **“Best way to her heart is through her stomach.”**

Emma sticks her tongue out at her and Regina’s heart soars.

Zelena chuckles, taking a step back toward the doors, “Please, come on in then, you can call your people and inform them my sister is safe.”

“Well that won’t stop getting weird,” Mulan mutters to Merida who snickers, looking at the tall red-haired woman.

“She looks more like my sister.” Mulan has to bite her cheek from laughing out loud when Regina turns to glare at them both.

**“When did you two become as immature as Emma?”**

“Hey!”

“We have been spending a lot of alone time with her lately.”

“Yeah, she’s a horrible influence.”

“Like Satan himself.”

Regina rolls her eyes, walking toward Zelena, **“Let’s go, we need to call Mary Margaret, she will definitely need to know her husband is missing.”**

The three grimace before following Regina and Zelena into the house. “You should tell her, she likes you more and she’ll be so happy to know you’re alright…”

**“Babies.”**

“I am not ashamed to admit that…” Emma states, looking around the dank place, eyes locking on the corner, “That your spot?” Regina looks to where her sweater is on a heap in the corner.

**“Does that surprise you?”**

“Not at all,” Emma smiles lovingly at her before walking to sit a little a ways from the corner, “Sit with me?” Regina nods, walking over to slowly lower herself down next to Emma, barely hiding the slight wince as her back twinges in pain. “Mulan, phone!” Mulan tosses it and Regina catches it before it hits Emma in the face, hovering just above Emma’s open hands. “Show off.”

Regina smirks, letting it drop into Emma’s palms, **“I just happen to like your face.”**

“Awwee, I like your face too!” Regina rolls her eyes, watching as Emma dials Mary Margaret’s number.

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as Regina stepped into the safe house she was squished in a tight hold by Henry, his head tucked under his chin and hands gripping tightly at the back of her sweater and it took her a few seconds to process it and slowly wrap her arms around the boy, hand at the back of his head as she rested her cheek on top of his head, eyes closed and just breathing him in.

“I was so scared.”

“I know,” Regina husks, kissing the top of his head, trying not to focus on the pain shooting through her back at the strong grip because Henry is all that matters and she’s fine.

“Hey, kid,” Emma breathes, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, her guilt over this whole situation so strong she’s barely been able to look at anyone but Regina in the eyes, most of all Mary Margaret who sobbed as soon as she heard the news.

He turns his head the other way to look at her, smile soft even as he stays clinging to Regina, “Hi, Emma,” he has tears on his cheeks and it breaks their hearts a little that he’s so sad but he smiles brightly at her, “You brought her home.”

“I did,” Emma’s grin is lopsided, sadness still in her eyes.

“You’ll bring him home too, it’s what you all do; you save people…like heroes.”

Emma shakes her head as Regina smiles squeezing him tighter to her and she kisses the top of his head as Emma says, “We’re not heroes, kid, we’re just people, doing the right thing.”

Henry giggles, “You are too heroes! Like you guys even have superpowers and stuff! And you got the supervillain out to get you…it’s like the X-Men!”

Emma chuckles at that, stepping closer to them and looking at him in the eyes, “You all are the heroes, I’m just the plucky sidekick.”

“You don’t need to have powers to be a hero, Emma! Look at Batman, Iron Man! Batgirl! Batwoman! The Arrow!” Henry exclaims, pulling away from Regina slightly to look determinedly up at Emma.

“Okay, okay, kid, I got it,” Emma chuckles, holding her hands up in surrender and it’s the first time Regina’s seen Emma smile since at the farmhouse last night.

“Good!” Henry leans closer into Regina again, eyes drooping shut and he looks so young.

“Is this Henry?” They all look toward the accented voice, Regina smiling softly, Emma unsurely and Henry just looking confused.

“Yeah, who’re you?” His eyes look her over and Emma is suddenly very proud.

“I’m Zelena, Regina’s big sister,” Henry squints at her and the woman’s smile brightens, “I come in peace, I promise. I’m here to bring down our mother and bring your David home.”

Henry seems to mull that over for a bit, pulling back to look at Regina, the two having a silent conversation before he nods, “Okay, I’ll show you to your room! You can bunk between Mulan and Merida! Well their rooms,” He giggles, pulling away from Regina to smile brightly at her before leaning forward to kiss her cheek and then a quick hug for Emma before grabbing Zelena by the hand and dragging her off, the last thing they hear was the boy asking, “What kind of name is Zelena anyways?”

Emma chuckles and Regina sighs, looking over at her, “Oh hell no! You’re not blaming me for that one! If anyone is the poor influence on manners it’s you! You still forget you can’t strip in front of people!” Regina arches her brow, “Not that _I_ mind…” Regina smirks, turning to walk towards their room to get out of the clothes she’s been wearing for close to two days now. “Hey! I get the shower first! I’m all sweaty and bloody!”

Regina laughs, **“I was kidnapped and battled close to 100 officers.”**

“Yeah well, so did I plus I worried about you and David and again, bloody!” Emma held up her gauze covered hands as reference.

**“If it’s so important to you, darling.”**

“How can a robotic voice have so much attitude?!” Emma pouts, “It’s that face, the eye roll; you’ve honestly perfected that.”

Regina smirks, turning back around and continuing her walk toward their room, listening to Emma’s stomping feet close behind her.

 

* * *

 

 

When she gets out of the shower Emma is sitting in the middle of her bed, towel still wrapped around her hair, wearing only shorts and a tank top, eyes glazed over as she stares down at the comforter.

“Emma?” She frowns, wrapping her arms around her middle as she walks closer, steps hesitant, her head tilting to the side as she watches her, and when she gets no reaction she slips onto the bed, crawling to sit against the footboard, Emma’s gaze finally meeting hers. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Emma breathes, bloodshot eyes filled with tears, and her pale cheeks pink and blotching under the obvious tear tracks.

**“Are you okay?”**

Emma frowns, “I will be once we get David back and this is all over.”

Regina nods, looking down at her fiddling hands. “I’m sorry…” she rasps, hand slowly moving to scratch at her temple, **“this is my fault.”**

“No, it’s not, it’s none of our faults…” Regina meets her eyes, “I know I’ve been in a really crappy self-hatred streak lately but…well the only persons fault for him being missing is whoever took him…”

**“You mean my mother, who wouldn’t have ever bothered with him if I hadn’t escaped.”**

“And I would be locked up in some prison, Mulan and Henry might be dead or being tortured…all those people we saved would still be locked up or dead…and I would have never met you. Too much good came out of this Regina and you know that.”

Regina sniffles, **“I know…and we saved those six people before this all went to hell.”**

“We did,” Emma smiles at her, “Did you just make me give myself a pep talk?”

Regina smiles proudly at her, “Maybe.”

“You little shit!” Emma giggles, their eyes bright with laughter for a moment, before they both deflate, Emma looking down at Regina’s hands on her bare legs, fidgeting once again, “I almost lost you.”

“I know.”

“I almost lost you and I never got to even hold your hand.”

“I know.”

“I was _so_ scared, Regina! I couldn’t _feel_ you! I thought you…” Emma’s tears are back again when their eyes meet, Regina’s own tears mirroring her own.

“I know…” Her lip wobbles and she grips her hands into fists, **“I felt it, when it came back I felt it all…I’m so sorry, Emma…”**

“I don’t want to feel like that ever again.”

“Me neither…”

Emma leans forward, “We’re about to like face some really fucking dangerous shit, Reg, I can’t…you can’t…babe…we can’t lose you. I can’t lose you, Regina, I’d die.”

Regina drops her head again, tears rolling down her cheeks and dropping onto her foot, **“I’m scared.”**

“I am too.”

Regina looks up at her, **“Before I knew what was happening…when I was lying on that floor with my limbs heavy and hurting and I couldn’t feel you…I thought I was going to die, without ever getting to hold you…but I was also happy,”** Emma’s eyes lock on hers and a deep frown etches onto her features, **“I was happy because you wouldn’t feel me die.”** Tears pour from both of their eyes, Emma shaking her head.

“I lost you, one second you were scared and hu-hurting and the next you were…you were gone,” Emma shakes her head again, “Regina, I _thought_ I felt you die!” Emma sobs, voice cracking, her hands trembling and as she looks at Regina, tears flowing like waterfalls down her face, Regina’s heart cracks and when Emma ducks her head, wrapping her arms protectively around her middle as her body trembles with sobs, well Regina thought she couldn’t take it anymore, “For 12 hours I thought you were dead!”

“Emma…” She breathes, raising her hand so it hovers between them, trembling in the air, she could feel her heart hammering anxiously in her chest, fear twisting around her insides until she almost felt sick but the sound of Emma’s sobs, watching her body tremble, feeling Emma’s pain deep within her chest, their connection wrapping around them trying to sooth them, to bring them in, to welcome them home but she was so scared. She retracted her hand an inch, her own tears dropping quickly to her ankle, “Emma…please…” Her throat restricts, a sob clogging it as Emma pulled herself in tighter, _that’s it_. She thinks, trembling hand moving forward again, Emma means more to her than her own fears. Emma’s eyes lock with hers when she feels her hand hovering over her cheek, Regina’s heart stalls, fumbling to keep up with the rhythm it was trying to beat.

“R’gina…” Emma hiccups, eyes unsure and questioning and Regina knows this is it, because as she stares into those beautiful eyes, eyes that were the only thing she ever liked about herself, eyes that meant love and safety growing up, they still mean that now, well, all that fear about being some monster floats away and is just filled with Emma, with her love, with belonging and home, her finger twitches, her breath catching, holding just as she moves it an inch forward to gently run across Emma’s cheek, both gasping at the actual feeling of their touch, of skin on skin, simple, gentle, feather-light, eyes searching each other’s and then Emma leans into the touch, and Regina is suddenly hit with so much, their eyes wide as they lock once more.

Their connection wraps around them, spinning the air around them, she’s sure she feels air and it locks them in a bubble, keeps them attached as their connection seeps into them, filling their hearts, heads, souls with this pull, this thing, love that’s never ending and Regina doesn’t understand any of it, but she can’t move, can’t look away from Emma’s eyes and then she feels Emma’s hand on her arm, gripping like she needs to hold on and as soon as that touch happens Regina feels this gust, this punch of something hit her before spreading from that space in her heart and then, images fill her mind, it’s images of them, she knows that because the women she sees flashing before her eyes feel like Emma…some even look like her, older, angrier sometimes, but Emma, they’re all Emma and her, with families, Henry, she sees him, feels him, always together, always…fighting for something, for each other.

They’re older, them, these bodies, older and Emma still somehow has that leather jacket and she’s shy and confident, angry, challenging…but she’s Emma and home and as she sees every one of their lives pass before her eyes, she feels more and more loved, more whole…like for the first time in her life she’s really, fully herself.

Emma is crying as she feels it, as she sees all their previous lives flashing before her eyes, she cries because in some flashes Regina looks so angry and hurt, broken, by her mother, by other people, mistreated and used, thrown away, hurt…so many of her lives are filled with so much pain, but in some, in some they’re happy, they have children in most, most feel and sometimes look like Henry, there are some differences, sometimes he has Emma’s chin and nose, sometimes he looks like this Henry and sometimes he looks exactly like Regina or not like them at all. The last image she sees is their wedding, Regina’s face, older, tears in her beautiful brown eyes, smile wide across her face and no scars on her temples and Emma can feel the love she felt for this woman in another life, can feel the laughter she sees on Regina’s face as Emma says her vows, can swear she feels the kiss upon her lips when it happens, can swear she feels Regina’s arms wrapped around her, swaying as they have their first dance, can hear as this past Regina, this older Regina, this different but so similar looking Regina whispers, _“I always did like second chances, Miss Swan.”_ And Emma, replaying with a cheeky, _“That’s Mrs. Swan-Mills, to you, your majesty.”_ It’s a different reality, a different life but it’s happening right there around them, before them, so many lives lived together, fighting, saving, loving each other, safety, home, just them.

“Emma…” Regina gasps, eyes locking.

“Regina.”

Then they watch it happen, watch their eyes switch back, Emma staring into beautiful chocolate brown eyes that feel like home and Regina staring at magnificent ocean green eyes that feel like safety and when they set those wonderful brown eyes flash purple and, Regina frowns, because at the same time, Emma’s amazing expressive green eyes flash white, sparkling and she can feel tingling run through both of them, she can feel what Emma is feeling, watches her gasp, and Regina does too as that love and safety, that feeling of home and wholeness bursts out from their bubble, from their bodies and it’s…it looks like a rainbow.

_“Wow.”_

_“Did I just see fireworks or am I smoking crack?”_

_“Emma?”_ Regina’s eyes are wide, the room feels like it’s spinning and she’s sure she’s losing her mind because there’s no way in hell she just heard Emma’s voice in her head.

_“Uh, Regina? Are you…are you reading my mind?!”_

_“You can hear me?!”_

_“You can hear me?!”_ Emma’s eyes are wide and she’s searching Regina’s face, a laugh slowly leaving her mouth, “This is insane!”

_“Indeed…”_

“Okay, that’s so weird! I can hear you!”

Regina laughs, moving her thumb to run along Emma’s damp cheek, “Emma…”

Emma turns her head to kiss Regina’s wrist before scooting forward, hand reaching out to hover over Regina’s cheek unsurely, their eyes locking and Emma frowns, “That’s going to take some getting used to.” Regina laughs, nodding in agreement as she continues to stare into Emma’s eyes, “I saw our lives.”

 _“Me too…”_ Regina sighs as soon as Emma finally lays her hand on her cheek, pulling her forward so their foreheads are pressed together, _“I feel like I’m floating.”_

“Me too…” Emma smiles, “Do you think the others saw that too?” Regina shrugs, it feels so nice touching, she nuzzles their noses together and Regina giggles. “Your eyes turned purple, like how Mulan’s went orange or David’s red.”

_“Your eyes, they glowed white.”_

Emma frowns, “Are you sure? I don’t…Nani and Lilo’s eyes didn’t change when they touched.”

 _“I’m sure…”_ Regina sighs, stroking Emma’s cheek as she shifts even closer, knees bumping and sending tingles through both of their bodies. _“I don’t think this is normal, Emma…if it was I’m sure David and Mary Margaret would be using it right now to come up with a plan…heck, every plan.”_

“Maybe it’s cause we waited so long or cause you don’t like to talk…” Emma frowns, “David mentioned when we first got here that everyone’s connection is unique, that it adjusts or whatever to the needs of the soulmates…like how I could hear your screams and he couldn’t…maybe we always had this possibility but like now with your full powers we can access it like better.”

 _“Perhaps…”_ Regina smiles, _“It beats using that device.”_ Regina reaches her other hand up to cradle Emma’s face, tingles rushing through them again, _“Do you feel that?”_

“Yes, I can even feel you feel it…this is sooo weird!” Regina giggles, then blushes and Emma gapes at her, “You are not having those thoughts! I thought it was my job to make the dirty jokes about our sex life being fabulous!”

“Gross! Why do I always hear th–” They turn to look at Henry who is standing in their room, eyes wide in shock, “You’re touching!” He exclaims before leaping across the room and into their arms, both falling to the mattress as the boy lands on them and it just takes them a moment to hug him, Emma’s arm around his waist and Regina’s tangling in his hair, laughter filling the room as Henry hugs them tightly and Regina kisses the side of his head between giggles. “I thought I felt something weird so I came to check on you guys and…” He pulls back, looking down at them, lips pursed in thought, “Your eyes are beautiful…”

Regina blushes and Emma grins, “Right! Like chocolate coloured paint splats!” Henry nods in agreement and Emma turns her head so she’s gazing at Regina, “They also turn a beautiful purple…but I’m not surprised because everything about her is beautiful.”

_“Softy.”_

“Oh shut up.”

Henry frowns, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Not you!” Emma gasps, “Regina, she’s being obnoxious…” Henry frowns deeper, “Oh my god! Okay, wait, kid, you’ll love this! We can read each other’s minds!”

Henry pushes back so he’s sitting on his calves between them, “Seriously?!”

“Seriously!” Emma bites her lip in thought, trying to think of a way to prove it and then she exclaims, “I know! Whisper something to Regina and then I’ll tell you what you said.”

“How do I know you just aren’t eavesdropping?”

“I’ll go across the room!”

 _“Emma…”_ Regina pouts, not wanting to lose their closeness so soon.

“It’ll just take a moment, Regina.”

Regina sighs, _“Fine, then you’re right back over here.”_

 _“I promise you.”_ Emma flashes her a loving smile before looking back up at Henry, “We got the all clear!” and leaps off the bed, Regina and Henry laughing as the towel hangs from her hair, Emma grumbling and whining as she unwraps it, tossing it across the room as she runs across it, placing her fingers in her ears and grinning at them from where she now stands in a corner.

Henry eyes her for a moment before leaning forward and whispering in Regina’s ear, the woman snorting making Emma squint accusingly at them. “What did he say?” Emma pouts, removing her fingers from her ears.

_“He said that I was right, you are clumsy.”_

“You called me clumsy?!”

Henry gasps, “You can read minds!”

“Hey! Don’t try and change the subject, kid! I am as graceful as a deer!”

_“A baby deer, maybe.”_

“Not cool, Regina! You don’t see me talking about how…” Regina arches her brow, “Well there’s nothing wrong with you! No wait, there’s one thing, you’re mean!”

Regina laughs, grabbing a pillow from the bed and throwing it at Emma, Emma’s hands shooting out in front of her to protect her face but when nothing hit her she opens her eyes to see why, only to see the thing floating in mid-air, Henry and Regina staring at it and her in shock, “Henry did you?” The boy slowly shakes his hand and Emma looks toward Regina, “Did you…?” Regina shakes her head too and Emma laughs awkwardly, “If you guys are messing with me…”

_“Emma, we aren’t, we didn’t do that…but,”_

_“But?”_

_“I felt you do it, I saw your eyes turn white…you…”_

_“That’s impossible! Only one person is Aberrant!”_

_“Zelena did say…”_ Their eyes lock and then Emma starts running to the open door, Regina leaping off the bed after her, Henry staring as she almost floats in the air before landing very softly, not a sound heard as she runs after Emma who is screaming Mary Margaret’s name as they barrel down the hall, Henry running after them curious at what is going on.

“Whoa! Emma!” Mary Margaret exclaims, shooting up from her chair and holding her hands out to stop her as she runs into the room yelling her name, “What’s wrong?!” and then she gasps, looking into Emma’s eyes, her ocean green eyes, “You touched.”

“That’s not even the craziest thing to happen in the last like hour!”

Regina comes to a stop by Emma, looking up at her with soft eyes, nose crinkling as she pursed her lips, _“Show her!”_

Emma turns to look at her, “How?”

Regina purses her lips in thought before her eyes light up, _“Catch.”_

“Wha–” Emma starts, feeling the tingle go through her arm as Regina twitches her fingers and Emma’s eyes are wide as a fucking beer bottle flies toward her head, but still, somehow she catches it on instinct again, Regina looking so proud of herself as Emma yells, “Regina! What the fuck?! A beer bottle?! You could have killed me!”

_“You’re fine.”_

“What next, you’ll throw me off a fucking bridge?!” Regina rolls her eyes but there’s still that slight blush on her cheeks from the swear word that is just too freaking cute and Emma really can’t stay mad at her when she’s being all cute and stuff.

“Holy shit…” Mulan is the first to speak drawing their attention to the group of adults staring at a map on the table. “I mean, she stopped that right? I’m not seeing things?” Merida nods slowly, eyes wide as she looks over both Emma and Regina.

“So cool, right?!” Henry exclaims and the young couple turns to look back at him with his childlike smile spread across his face.

Merida and Mulan both nod, eyes comically wide.

“I don’t…how?” Mary Margaret starts muttering to herself drawing their attention to her, “Why is David never here when I need him?!”

Regina reaches out, placing her hand on Mary Margaret’s arm, smile reassuring, “Regina wants you to know we’ll get him back,” Mary Margaret’s attention shoots to Emma, eyebrows almost in her hairline. “Yeah, that’s the other thing, we can like talk in our heads to each other…” Emma looks around them, tipping her head close to Mary Margaret, “And when we touch or do anything with powers we can feel it…like what the other is feeling.”

Mary Margaret lowers herself into the chair slowly, “This can’t be happening…it’s impossible…”

Emma frowns, “well apparently not…”

_“Emma…”_

Emma looks over at her, _“Reg, c’mon.”_ Regina gives her _that_ look, the one that makes Emma instantly feel bad because she definitely did something wrong. “I’m sorry, Mary Margaret…it’s just…it’s a little shocking, before this there was nothing and now everything,” Emma’s eyes widen comically as she spins to stare at Regina, “Wait! Does this mean I can see through your eyes too?!” Regina purses her lips in thought, brow and nose crinkling, “Wow, you’re really thinking hard about this…”

Regina rolls her eyes, shoving Emma with her powers, _“It’s a possibility I suppose…just, close your eyes and think of me, that’s how I always find you.”_

“Right now?” Mary Margaret is staring up at them in shock as Regina shrugs, smile soft, “Okay, uh, here goes nothing?”

_“You’ll do fine, Emma.”_

“Says the woman that has been doing this for like her whole life…oh my god! How did you even start doing it?!”

 _“One day it just happened. Now focus, Emma, focus on me.”_ Emma contorts her face adorably in thought and Regina can’t help but chuckle because she resembles a toddler right that moment, _“You’re cute.”_

Emma opens her eyes and glares, “Your face is cute.”

Regina laughs, reaching out to grip her arm and they both stop, stare down at her hand just hovering there before Emma reaches for it, tangling their fingers together, _“Maybe you can’t…or maybe you’re just too distracted, we can try again later?”_  

Emma nods, looking back down at Mary Margaret, “Have you heard of this before?”

She blinks, opening her mouth to respond when the phone rings, all staring down at it in the middle of the table, Mary Margaret scooping it up off the table and answering as soon as she sees David’s face lighting up the screen, “David!” exclaims as soon as she answers the phone.

“Not quite, Snow.”

Regina’s blood runs cold, Emma can actually feel the fear prickle up her spine, turning to see that she looks almost ghostly pale, _“Regina?”_

_“Mother…”_

Regina looks at Emma just as Mary Margaret says, “Cora,” voice bitter, scared, furious.

“Long time no see, dear, how have you been?”

Regina squeezes tightly onto her hand while Mary Margaret’s jaw clenches, Mulan looking ready to kill. “What have you done with my husband, Cora?!”

“He’s fine…for now that is but if you don’t return my daughter to me well then, he won’t be feeling much of anything and well, neither will you.”

Mary Margaret growls, actually growls and if that isn’t scary her voice as she speaks makes chills run down Emma’s spine, “If you hurt him, Cora I will kill you!”

“Give me Regina and you’ll get your precious Prince Charming back in one piece.”

“I will never let you get your hands on that child again!” Mary Margaret sneers, leaning over the phone.

“Regina, dear, how would you like it if I showed sweet old David what the tank looks like? You think he’ll enjoy that? Or maybe we can see how he likes…what did you call it again, dear? Oh, that’s right, you called it–”

“Stop,” Regina’s voice was gravelly but urgent, sweat glistening her skin, hands trembling as she continues, “Mother, stop…please just…let him go, I’ll come back, okay? Just let him go,” tears are running down her cheeks, violent and scared but her expression is so sure, even as Emma tries Regina doesn’t change her mind, she won’t.

“Dusk, I’ll text you the address. And Regina, I’ll see you soon.”

The line goes dead and Mary Margaret’s arms that are holding her upright start to shake before she falls back in her chair but Regina, Regina seems to collect herself, wiping the tears from her face as she crouches down in front of Mary Margaret, clutching her hands in hers, **“It’ll be okay, I’ll get him back for you.”**

“Regina, no,” Merida states but Regina pays her no mind, like she ignores the messages Emma is sending in her head, her eyes focused on Mary Margaret.

**“It’ll be okay.”**

Mary Margaret pulls her hands from Regina’s hands moving to quickly clutch her face, “I won’t fail you again, Regina, I won’t let you sacrifice yourself for David, or for me.”

**“This is my choice.”**

“Again?” Emma asks, frowning, “When have you failed her before? Why did she call you Snow?”

Mary Margaret sighs, running her thumbs over Regina’s cheeks as she stares into Regina’s eyes, “You look like him, you know? He would have been so proud of you, Regina,” Regina’s eyes shimmer with tears even as she frowns in confusion at her, brows furrowing, “I knew your parents, Regina. David and I, we lived next door to them when we first got married, we became very close, and then we became pregnant a few months apart, we went to birthing classes together, Henry and I used to sit around talking about names and our child’s futures while David and Cora fussed with costs and hospital choices,” She shook her head, stroking Regina’s cheek affectionately again, wiping away tears that had fallen.

“Henry was your dads name too?” Was Henry’s voice breaking through, all of them noticing for the first time that the boy was still there.

**“It was.”**

“You and David…he said you don’t have kids…” Emma sounded sad, Regina knew that’s how she felt.

Mary Margaret looks at her, smiling softly before looking back at Regina, “We always knew Cora didn’t have a soulmate and she never asked about us so we didn’t say we were. As time moved on and my due date arrived, well David and I had a beautiful baby g-girl,” She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks quickly but Regina didn’t look away, kept their eyes locked, “and then about four months later Cora had you, Regina, and things changed because you got a brown eye almost instantly but your other eye, well it stayed blue for a long time and Cora…she…David and I, we became worried for your wellbeing and then I made a grave mistake, I told your mother that David and I were soulmates, your mother became so angry,” Mary Margaret shakes her head again, “She was filled with such hatred and one day, while I was over talking with Henry Cora threw something at you, you were still so little, only a few months and like Emma, like Mulan, like Henry,” She nods at the boy who looks sad, “I reacted on instinct and I stopped the bottle mid-air, just a foot away from you–”

“But David is the–” Henry started but Emma finished with understanding.

“The rumours Zelena mentioned were true, you’re both Aberrant, like Regina and I…you said.”

“We were the first people it ever happened with I didn’t think…” Mary Margaret shakes her head, “After I showed Cora my powers we noticed a van following us around, we became worried for the safety of our child, so we gave her to Archie to drop off at a hospital, we told him to…told him to lose her, we could never know who she was or where she ended up…the only thing she could keep was her name and this blanket I made for her,” She smiles at Regina, thumb running over her cheek again, “With your father…we were very close back then.”

“What happened?” Emma asks, reaching out and letting her hand fall to Regina’s shoulder, squeezing affectionately.

“We were captured a few days later but they didn’t know David was Aberrant too and the place was still so new that we escaped a few days later, and ran, we started the Underground a few months later and Cora didn’t bug us because well, she could never control us, we were too strong.”

“Together, you were too strong together.”

Mary Margaret looks up at Emma, “And now he’s alone and probably thinks Regina is still missing.”

“Can’t you just tell him? If you’re like–”

“You two are stronger than we ever were…I can feel him, see him, sense him but, we can’t talk in our minds, you two have always had this connection unlike anything we have ever seen before.”

Regina frowns, pulling back from Mary Margaret’s hands as she asks, **“Why didn’t you tell me you knew them? Knew my father so well?”**

“Nobody knows about us because it’s dangerous, we were protecting you…” She glances over at Emma, Regina thinks she almost sees longing in her eyes but she’s probably wrong, she’s never been good at emotions, “I understand now how wrong that was, and I’m sorry Regina, we, we’ll tell you everything we know about your father after this is over.”

Regina nods, smiling softly at her, **“Good, because I have a plan and, you’re not going to like it,”** she looks back at Emma and smiles, **“None of you will.”**

_“Reg…”_

Regina pushes up to her feet, turning to smile at Henry, **“Henry, go gather everyone up, tell them to meet us here,”** The boy nods and runs off, as soon as he’s out of the room she turns to look at Emma, leaning into her hand now resting on the small of her back, **“Merida, call the others, we will need everyone.”**

“What can I do?” Emma asks, looking anxious.

_“You can follow me, I’m going to teach you a few things.”_

Emma arches a brow, smirk on her lips, _“What are you going to teach me, Miss Mills?”_

Regina rolls her eyes, _“How not to die,”_ Emma’s smile falls, **“Mary Margaret I need you to figure out as much of the layout of the room David is being held in as soon as possible. Mulan,”** the woman looks up at Regina, **“You’re with me.”**

Everyone nods and just then Zelena, Ruby, Tink, and Moana enter the room, looking around anxiously, **“Follow me, we have a lot to do in very little time.”**

They all practically have to run after Regina as she moves toward the training room, ready to give them the fastest boot camp to ever exist.

 

* * *

 

 

 _“Emma, relax!”_ Regina frowns as they sit in the middle of the bed in their room hours later.

“I am relaxed!” Emma whines, face scrunched in concentration.

_“No, you’re not! I can literally feel how tense you are!”_

Emma sighs, opening her eyes to glare at Regina, “Of course I’m tense! I’m about to just let the woman I love get taken by mother dearest!”

_“Emma…”_

“Don’t ‘Emma’ me! I’m allowed to be scared!”

Regina reaches out, tangling their hands together slowly, _“I’ll be fine. But if you want this to work you need to relax and just focus on me.”_

“What if I just can’t do it?”

Regina squeezes her hands, resting their foreheads together, _“You can move objects with your mind, we can communicate with our minds, feel each other without touching…seeing through my eyes is nothing.”_

“You say that because you’ve been doing it since you were a kid! It’s like walking for you now…for me, it’s like I’m learning another language, Regina!”

 _“Okay…”_ she purses her lips, moving her left hand up to cradle Emma’s cheek in her hand, thumb running along her cheek, “okay…”

“Okay?”

_“I’ll just have to teach you slowly…give you treats if you do it.”_

“Treats? Like candy?”

Regina chuckles, _“You see through my eyes and I’ll kiss you.”_

“Bribing me with kisses before we even kiss? Is that really how you want your first kiss, Regina?”

Regina hums, _“Very well, you see through my eyes and you can touch me.”_

“I’m alre–Hey!” Emma cuts herself off as Regina extracts herself from Emma’s hold, leaping airly from the bed and landing almost across the room without a single sound, “Where are you going?!”

_“I’ll be in the bathroom and when you can tell me what I’m doing I’ll come back out and give you a big squishy hug…or you can touch my ass, whichever you prefer.”_

Emma laughs loudly because Regina really has caught her staring at her ass waaay too many times at this point…including right now…and Emma knows she’s caught because when she looks back up, Regina is smirking at her over her shoulder and laughing wickedly. “Evil,” the bathroom door shuts and Emma falls back on the bed, bouncing a few times before she settles, “What do I even do?!”

_“Close your eyes, and think of me, just me.”_

“I hate this! I miss you!”

Regina’s laugh floats past the bathroom door, wrapping around her as Emma closes her eyes, and thinks of Regina, thinks of her smile and her hair, of her eyes, beautiful chocolate coloured eyes that makes Emma’s heart sing. She thinks of their past lives, of that Regina on their wedding day, of that Regina that looked different but felt like her as they sat in a police cruiser together, the dark-skinned woman eating a doughnut and her smile shining in her eyes. She thought of their future…and she just missed her so much! She wanted to feel her touch, see her face again! _“Ginaaaaa.”_

Nothing, and Emma was about to give up when she swears she sees something flash through her mind that looked oddly like Regina’s eyes so she just kept thinking about her, looking for her and then there was another flash, Regina’s lips, painted red, and that little scar on her top lip. Her nose, scrunched up, her hand combing through her hair, then she watched her head turn, the scar at her temple, her focus stayed there for a moment before it traveled down again, the images in her head focusing, solidifying and then Emma burst out into laughter because the first time she sees Regina in her mind, through her eyes, well she’s making this stupid face, cheeks blown out so she more resembles a squirrel and eyes big and wide and her eyebrows arched high, it’s the best thing ever, and Emma laughs because it’s honestly not what she was expecting at all.

 _“I knew you could do it.”_ Regina’s voice floats through her mind and then Emma watches in her mind as Regina turns toward the bathroom door and opens it, and for the first time ever, Emma sees herself through Regina’s eyes. _“You’re beautiful.”_

Emma sits up, opening her eyes to look at Regina with a wide smile, “You’re amazing. I love you sooo much!”

“I love you too,” Regina smiles, walking until she’s standing by the bed.

“I believe I was promised a hug.”

Regina nods and Emma grabs her hand, tugging her close and wrapping her arms securely around her before flopping back on the bed, bringing Regina with her eliciting a surprised gasp from the woman. Her hold is tight around Regina’s torso but she loosens it so Regina can shift, curl around her body and grip her shoulders.

“I love you,” Emma whispers into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

Regina smiles into her neck, kissing the skin there as she says, “I love you too,” before pulling back and smiling brightly down at Emma, eyes shimmering with love as Emma reaches up to tuck nearly shoulder length hair behind her ear, before letting her fingers trace down her jaw, Regina’s eyes drooping shut at the loving touch. Emma cups her jaw, and Regina lets out a small gasp when Emma’s thumb traces over her lips, over the scar on her lip, Regina’s head lowers to rest against Emma’s forehead, tears gathering behind her eyes as Emma traces over her features with her fingers.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Emma smiles, thumb tracing over her bottom lip again before she moves it to cup the back of her head, her other hand squeezing Regina’s hip before she leans up, lips a millimetre away from touching and Regina’s breath catches in her throat, heart hammering excitedly in her chest and then everything stops as Emma’s lips meet hers, gentle, soft, Regina moulds into her, her hand moving to cup Emma’s cheek as she kisses back, presses as close as she can to Emma, wanting to feel close, to stay in her warmth and safety and Emma…she just wants to stay with Emma, like this, forever. Except forever doesn’t happen because she forgets to actually breathe and she pulls away, taking in a long gasp of air and Emma giggles, stroking her cheek affectionately.

“Next time, breathe, I happen to like you conscious.”

Regina blushes and giggles but a second later she leans back down to kiss Emma again, she doesn’t really know what to do, she’s seen people kiss in a movies and of course David and Mary Margaret’s quick kisses in greeting but, she’s never kissed anyone, doesn’t know what to do, how to go about  it, but Emma kisses her softly, slowly, and it’s nice, it’s really nice and it makes Regina’s belly twist slightly and then Emma pulls back, pushing the hair from Regina’s face and smiling so brightly at her. “Don’t worry, we’ll go slow,” Regina blushes but she smiles gratefully at Emma, caressing a pale freckled cheek as she stares into her eyes.

_“What are you thinking?”_

Emma blushes, “You probably don’t want to know everything I’m thinking but well, mostly that I love you.” Emma twists a lock of dark hair between her fingers before she leans up, kissing the corner of Regina’s lips where that little freckle is, smiling against her cheek as she moves to place a kiss to the scar on her top lip, her other hand moving up to cup Regina’s face as she moves to kiss the tip of her nose, between her eyebrows. She tips Regina’s head, placing a kiss to the little barely noticeable scar on her forehead before turning it and placing a long kiss to her temple, feeling Regina’s tears on her hands she uses her thumbs to wipe them away as she turns her head the other way, kissing her other temple a few times before kissing down the side of her face to kiss tear stained cheeks and then finally Regina’s lips again, their lips just pressed together as Emma combs her hands through Regina’s hair and Regina grips her face as her own tears fall onto Emma’s cheeks, onto her own hands but they stay pressed together, eyes shut tightly and after a long moment they press their foreheads together, just breathing each other in and absorbing the feeling of home and safety, of wholeness, until Mary Margaret announces through the door that Cora texted the location and it’s time to prepare to leave.

 

* * *

 

“Be safe,” Henry pleads from where his head is tucked into her neck, arms fully encircling her small frame as he clings to her, taller, stronger, but still so young.

She moves her hand to the back of his head gently before pulling back, cradling his cheeks in her hands as she ducks her head to rest against his forehead, “I promise, Henry.”

He nods, gripping her wrists before his eyes droop closed, tears falling free, “I can’t lose you too.”

**“You won’t, we’ll get him back and destroy The Tentoria for good, I promise.”**

Henry sniffles, lunging forward again to hug her tightly.

“It’s time.” Emma’s sad voice reaches their ears, and Regina’s eyes find Emma’s over Henry’s head; green, the brilliant green she can never get tired of looking at.

 _“I’ll be right there.”_ Emma nods, stepping forward to run her fingers through Henry’s hair lovingly before stepping back out of the room. **“We will be fine, Henry, you need to stay here though, but we will get David back, I promise.”**

Henry sniffles again before pulling back, wiping her runny nose on his sleeve, “I know, I’ll hold down the fort with Granny.”

“That’s my boy.” Regina says, cradling his head in her hands once again as she leans forward to kiss his forehead.

“You ready to run mission control, kid?” Emma asks. Her voice lighter as she leans against the door frame, flashing a playful smile at Henry when he turns nodding quickly at her. “Well, get going. Granny is waiting for you with cocoa.”

Henry flashes her a smile and runs from the room. His loud footsteps pausing for a moment before he turns back and rushes into Emma’s arms, hugging her just as tightly as he had Regina, “You be safe too, Emma!”

“I promise, kid. I think I’ll be the safest person on earth with Regina as my backup.”

“You’re right, but like, you up for covering her too?”

“I got this, kid, it’s what I’ve been training for.”

Henry rolls his eyes as he pulls her into another hug, kissing her cheek before running back to Regina and kissing hers. “Don’t let her do anything too stupid,” he requests.

Regina smirks at him, **“I’ll try my best…but you know, Emma, it’s hard to stop her from doing something stupid…at least once.”**

Henry snickers as Emma calls out to them, “I heard that! The computer doesn’t whisper, you know!”

Regina and Henry both turn to smirk at her, Regina twitching her fingers to nudge Emma towards them, Emma coming willingly a second later to gather the two in a strong hug, kissing both their heads, “Okay, get out of here kid before your hot cocoa is more like chocolate milk.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves them off, running out of the room and once he’s out of earshot Emma turns to Regina, taking a shaking hand in hers.

 _“It’ll be okay, I promise,”_ Emma says with a reassuring smile sent her way.

_“You don’t know that.”_

Emma rests their heads together, _“I do because not only is David one of the strongest people I know, but he also has you coming to his rescue…and me, and well, us together, nobody stands a chance.”_

_“Yes, I pity the fool that gets in your way when you trip over your own feet.”_

“That happened once!”

Regina laughs, covering Emma’s hands on her cheek, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Emma pecks her lips before stepping back, looking around them and flashing a strained smile at Mulan who is standing in the doorway, “Looks like it’s time to go tear down the  
hierarchy.”

 _“This is what dreams are made of,”_ Regina smirks and Emma shakes her head at her, pecking her lips one more time before tangling her fingers with Regina’s and pulling her toward Mulan.

“You two lovebirds ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go save our Prince Charming.”

Mulan chuckles, leading them out of the building, “Merida has the car running, shouldn’t take us long to get to the meet…but we are acting on the belief that this is a trap.”

_“I expect nothing less from my mother.”_

“Regina says it’s to be expected considering what a major bitch her mother is.” Regina and Mulan arch a brow, “I am paraphrasing of course.”

“I figured,” Mulan chuckles, sliding open the van door and grinning at Tink and Elsa who are already in the back.

“Hey, ladies!” They wave as they hope in, Emma clapping Ruby on the shoulder in greeting as she shuffles into the back seat of the van. Regina sits on her lap, as they both glance at Tink squished between them and Elsa.

Mary Margaret peeks around the passenger seat to check on them, “Everyone settled?”

There’s an annoyed grunt heard and they all look toward the source of the voice, “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

Emma laughs and Regina reaches forward to grip Zelena’s shoulder, _“You’re doing the right thing, sis.”_

Zelena covers Regina’s hand with her own, understanding the silent gesture without needing Emma to translate, “I know, I just, bringing down my mother…I never thought the woman that gave me life would be so vile,” Regina squeezes her shoulder, “But hey, I found you instead so like, let’s go tear apart her world and make her pay for all the pain she’s caused you…all of you.”

Regina leans back into Emma, letting her hand fall away from Zelena’s shoulder and onto Emma’s, which lay folded against her middle. Those hands keeping her safe and secure as the van door is pulled closed with a slam and they drive to the meet…now the real question, how will David fit in the van on their way back?


	7. Chapter 7

Regina stares out at the large empty field as they pull up to it, it seems like maybe on another day it could almost be peaceful, like maybe used for picnics or kids soccer matches and yet it makes her stomach twist anxiously because tonight isn’t peaceful at all. But then Emma hugs her tighter to her body and places a kiss on her shoulder and she relaxes just a bit.

_“It’ll be okay, Regina.”_

Regina leans back into her, turning her head to rest against the side of Emma’s as she tangles their fingers together, her eyes closing as she revels in the feeling of being wrapped up in nothing but Emma until it’s their turn to exit the packed van.

 _“We got this, babe.”_ Emma kisses her cheek before untangling their hands and giving Regina a little nudge to get up and out of the van, Emma standing up just behind her, hand pressed firmly, soothingly against her back, and finding her hand as soon as they’re both out of the van, looking across the empty field, “Are we early?”

_“No, they’re here…I can feel them.”_

Emma squeezes her hand and looks to Mary Margaret who is frowning deeply, anxiously, “Why Snow White?”

Mary Margaret turns to her, brows raised, “What?”

“I mean, out of every code name and Disney prince and princess why them?”

Mary Margaret chuckles, turning to stare back across the field as she answers, “We were the first. Also, David always said I looked like her and he got a good giggle out of those codenames back when we were young and stupid.”

“That’s…oddly romantic for a codename used to destroy a government-owned organization made to kidnap and torture people who weren’t like everyone else.”

“I think that’s why he found it so funny.”

 _“They’re coming,”_ Regina tells her and Emma’s eyes move to see the headlights lighting up the park as they drive closer, everything starting to feel weird and…just not right.

“I don’t like this…” Emma mutters, squeezing Regina’s hand while looking around them, _“Do you feel that?”_

_“Yes, but I’ll be okay…I promise you, Emma, we’ll be just fine.”_

Emma glances over at her, about to say something when she notices how the van has lit up Regina, strong, beautiful, healthy Regina in tight jeans and one of Emma’s sweatshirts, she’s still small, short and sweet, and as Emma looks at her, watches her as the Tentoria’s van lights hit her she notices that she’s scared too, she’s pale and sweaty and she’s biting the inside of her cheek and Emma can swear she can hear her quietly telling herself it’ll be okay so Emma squeezes her hand again and looks ahead, preparing herself to see the woman who tortured and abused Regina her whole damn life.

Regina's hold on Emma's hand suddenly tightens, warning Emma that she must have spot Cora already, or perhaps sensed her. But hard as she tries, Emma can't quite see the woman, instead she spots something different, something weird

“What is that?”

 _“I’ll be okay,”_ Regina says, turning to kiss Emma’s cheek before letting go of her hand and stepping out from behind Mary Margaret and Mulan.

“Regina! You look different!” It’s a man’s voice and Emma doesn’t understand but she feels Regina’s fear run down her spine, “We’ve missed you. You know, we had to rebuild after your little, incident but I think you’ll like your new room better, sure it doesn’t have the nice wall decorations you drew but it has a nice new bed.”

Emma instantly hates him, wants to push past the others and deck him in the face, punch him until his face literally crumbles under her fist.

He steps out of the light, average height, skin light and hair a dirty blonde and his smile…Emma tries to lunge forward when she watches his eyes run over Regina’s body, but Merida wraps her arms around her tightly, holding her back and she wants to cry as she feels Regina’s unease, watches her wrap her arms around her middle protectively, body shifting to try and hide away her figure.

“Hey! Her eyes are on her face asshole!” Emma gets out before Merida clasps her hand over her mouth and then Emma hears it, feels it.

 _“Emma, darling, please relax, I’m okay, please, I don’t want them to hurt you,”_ She feels the touch across her cheek as she sees Regina’s fingers twitch on her arm.

 _“Regina…”_ Emma whimpers under Merida’s hand but relaxes in her hold nonetheless.

_“Thank you, Emma.”_

He steps closer and Regina’s back straightens, eyes dropping to the ground trying not to meet his, “Gold is so excited to see you again,” And then he jams a needle into her neck, she was expecting it, she didn’t want Emma to be here for this because she knew she would panic and she could hear the commotion as everything started to get hazy, but she had forgotten how much it actually hurt…how scary it actually was.

 _“I’ll be okay, my darling.”_ She sends just before Whale catches her limp body in his arms, scooping her up and carrying Regina to the van.

_“Regina!”_

“She’s okay,” Merida whispers in her ear, “you know this is what was going to happen, you knew it was a trap.”

Emma whimpers, eyes never leaving Whale’s back, never leaving the van as he disappears behind it forgoing the gurney like thing on the lawn.

“They’ve always carried her,” Mulan turns to say, before looking back to glare down the shadowy figures of the guards.

“Where is David? Where is my husband?!” Mary Margaret demands when Whale makes an appearance once more.

“We will release him when we get our property back home safely.”

Emma growls, ripping Merida’s hand from her mouth as she yells, “She’s nobody’s property, asshole! She’s a fucking human being, you sick son of a bitch!”

He grins widely at that, “I like you, spunky, don’t see that much in my line of work.”

“Oh yeah, well you won’t be seeing much of anything when I get my ha–” Emma’s words are cut off again my Merida’s hand while Emma flails around in her grasp, trying to get her hands on the fucking pervert.

“You follow us and they both die,” Whale states, climbing back into the passenger seat of the van and Emma is just happy he won’t be in the back with an unconscious Regina because she does not trust that man.

Mary Margaret mutters under her breath, hands clenched into fists as they watch the van back up and drive off the field, all of them just standing there watching it disappear.

“I hate this plan,” Emma mutters around Merida’s hand and the group all nod, Zelena pulling open the van door to look at the group.

“They’re still watching, I can sense them around the park but since I’m not controlling Regina’s powers distance shouldn’t affect your connection this time…especially now since you’re both all-powerful.”

“Ready to drive us into the dragon's nest?”

Zelena chuckles, “oh yeah, although, I doubt we’ll have to, they’re coming closer, as we suspected, a big fucking trap.”

“You think they’ll take us where they’re holding her?” Emma asks, looking around the place.

“Possibly…”

Emma sighs, looking around before she jumps into the back of the van, “I refuse to lose her, so let’s like, scatter?”

Everyone jumps into the van, locking the doors as Mulan starts it, headlight lighting up the field and lighting up the row of Tentoria officers in front of them.

“Too bad we don’t have Regina with her all-powerful screams.”

“I got this,” Mary Margaret smirks, rolling down the window, sticking her hand out and swiping it through the air, at once the officers all fly into each other to the left causing a domino effect, Emma watches in awe as she moves her hand the other way knocking over the rest, “You may drive now, and call Mal to see how the tail is coming.”

Emma laughs, dialling the number and smirking, “Maleficent this is the white knight, what’s the word on sleeping beauty?”

“Besides her hating that you gave her that nickname?” Emma grins, “The transport is in sight we’re staying back but so far so good. How’s she feeling?”

“Roger that! And okay, our connection is hella pissed right now but she seems fine physically but I pity the fools when she wakes up.”

“Amen,” Mal says, “They turned off the highway onto Thompson, I’ll keep you posted on any changes.”

“Righty O! bye.”

“Bye,” She says and hangs up, Emma looking out the window as they drive the opposite way, their connection is seriously pissed off at this long separation so soon after the last one but they have to pretend they’re not following so they don’t risk Regina and David’s lives. “They got off on Thompson Ave.”

Mulan nods, taking a sharp turn driving all over the place until they’re pretty certain nobody is following and a few blocks past Emma’s point of crying in pain from how hard their connection is fighting this but as soon as they start in the direction Regina is it loosens again.

“Can we never do this again?”

They all mutter in agreement and Emma stares down at her phone as the texts come in, “Sunny District.”

“Seriously?”

“That’s what Mal says.”

“When we get control over the government again I vote we change all these fucking names.”

Emma laughs at Merida’s annoyed muttering, looking back at the three young ones in the back seat, she was surprised they agreed to literally do the impossible.

 _“I’m coming for you, baby,”_ Emma thinks as she stares out the window, closing her eyes as she focuses on Regina and nothing else.

                       

* * *

 

When Regina comes too she’s in a sterile looking room with white walls, it’s so different from the old place and yet…it feels just as empty and creepy.

 _“Emma? Can you hear me?”_ she sends as she looks around, she spots the two-way mirror instantly and snarls, knows Mother is behind the glass before she even speaks.

“Welcome back, Regina.”

_“I’m here, I hear you. We’re close, baby, just hang on, distract them.”_

Regina smirks, _“With pleasure, my love.”_

“Hello, Mother,” Regina pushes up to her feet, looking as calmly as she can even if her heart is beating anxiously in her chest, “Scared?” She questions as she looks around the room, starting to walk, to circle it.

“I could never be scared of a child.”

“Then why don’t you come in here and talk to me? Worried my words will hurt you, Mother?”

_“It’s okay, you can do this, you’re doing amazing, Regina…after this you don’t have to talk for months!”_

Regina wants to smile but she forces herself to turn the twitching of her lips into an angry sneer.

“I see I’m going to have to beat that attitude out of you again,” Cora says from behind Regina as she enters the room, and Regina locks her spine to keep herself from jumping, from turning around to face her.

“I’m not the same little girl I used to be, Mother, a lot has changed since you last saw me.”

“Is that so?”

Regina hums, reaching out to the mirror as she passes it, she rests her hand against it and can feel her mother’s fear as her powers shift the air, and then she turns, watching Mother’s face as she feels the glass crack under her hand, “Have you talked to Doctor Gold recently? Last I saw him he was wetting himself on the pretty tile floors,” Regina taunts, turning to look around the room again so her mother wouldn’t see the pain in her eyes, the fear, couldn’t tell how much it actually hurts her to speak, to say actual words, sentences, but with each syllable she can feel Mother’s fear grow, and she knows her pain is worth it.

The cracked mirror glass falls from its frame a moment later and Regina grins wickedly at the two doctors standing on the other side. “Boo!” She lunges and Gold physically jumps, trembling, and then he sees her eyes and his whole being turns sickly pale.

“Regina, you will behave!”

Regina spins to look at her mother, hands on her hips, “No, Mother, it’s you who will behave,” She starts walking closer, “You who will stand down. You who will cower in the corner. _You_ who will promise to be good because I’m so tired, Mother, tired of the way you treat people, of being the only one that remembers and cares for the lives of the people you took, the people you killed. I’m tired of fearing for my life and of fighting for freedom Every. Single. Day…for the freedom to live and love and _hug_ the woman I love, to speak freely without a care!”

She’s a few feet in front of Cora now, sneering as she moves closer still, “I’m tired of sitting by and letting you bully everyone…and I’m tired of being tired, of being scared, so it’s your turn, your turn to fear for your life, your turn to beg, _Mother_ ,” She spits, disgust clear in her voice as she locks eyes with Cora and the woman looks frightened for a moment as she stares into her dark brown eyes but then the fear is gone and before Regina knows what’s happening Cora’s fingers are digging painfully into her chin as she forcefully shoves her head down.

“You’ve met them,” disgust so much stronger than her own, stronger than Regina has ever heard from the woman before, “You just look more like that pathetic man.”

Regina yanks her head out of her mother’s grasp, feeling her nails scratch against her skin and Regina has to take a steadying breath as she takes a step back, fear tearing into her insides and gripping tightly around her heart.

 _“Hey, it’s okay, I’m still here,”_ Emma’s voice fills her mind and calms her but her eyes stay locked on Cora, on how she walks across the room and drops into a chair.

“Sit, Regina.”

She looks at the other chair then to mother before she walks across the room and leans against the wall instead, smirking as she sees the irritation in the twitch of Mother’s jaw, she’s always been able to read this woman at least.

“You know, Mr. Nolan has been asking about you…he seems so worried.”

Regina’s jaw tenses, “Where is he?” She growls, pushing off the wall and storming toward her, she doesn’t realize her mistake, the trap she walked right into, until the blots of electricity start tearing through her body and her mouth opens in a silent scream before she collapses to the floor, curling into a small heap as she feels the sticky sweat coating her skin and that horrible familiar feeling of the burning in her veins.

_“Regina! Regina! What happened?! Are you okay?!”_

_“Emma…it hurts, Emma…it hurts so much,”_ Tears roll down her cheeks, she can feel the pride oozing off Mother as she circles her curled up form.

“You think you’ve changed, but you haven’t, child, you’re still as blinded by emotions as you’ve always been…and one little zap is all it takes to get you back in line.”

Regina squirms away from the hand that runs across her cheek, trying for affectionate, except she now knows what real affection feels like and this just isn’t it. She shoves her back with her powers and sends her stumbling into the stupid metal chair. Regina is still too weak to stand, everything still humming but she’s not too weak to smirk proudly as she watches Mother smash her arm into the hard pointy edge of the chair.

“You’ll regret that, child!”

Regina lets out a crazy sounding laugh, rolling on her back as she plants her hands on the white tile floors, closing her eyes as she sends a small vibration out to find David, grin wide as she locates him not far away, and she knows he senses her too from the vibrations already humming subtly through the place, “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, Mother.”

_“We’re here, Reg.”_

_“See you soon, my love.”_

_“Kick ass.”_

Mother walks toward her, her moves different, stiffer than they used to be, she has a slight limp, Regina feels proud.

“What are you going off about, child?!”

Regina snaps open her eyes, turning to face her instantly, “You brought two full powered Aberrants into one building…ones that are a team, who trained together for months…he trained me, Mother, you really thought I wouldn’t be able to find him?”

“You haven’t found him.”

Regina sits up, she still feels the trembling in her body but this isn’t the worst thing they’ve done to her so she easily pushes past it, pushes onto her booted feet, “You also forgot another thing,”

“What’s that?”

“We always find each other,” Regina states before punching her mother square in the face then pulling the door free only to find a smirking Emma on the other side.

“That’s my girl!”

Regina rolls her eyes, turning to smirk at the two doctors being tied up by Mulan and Merida.

_“You got here fast.”_

“The things Mary Margaret can do…is honestly a little frightening.”

Regina chuckles, staring down at mother clutching her face as blood drips onto the perfect white floors under her.

“So this is her?” Regina nods and Emma steps forward, looking down at her, “She’s not too scary when she’s crying and bleeding on the floor.

_“I wish I had done that years ago.”_

“I wish I could do it now,” Emma laughs.

Regina steps around mother, grasping Emma’s face in her hands as she leans forward and places a kiss to her lips.

Cora groans, pushing up to sneer at them in disgust. “You make me sick, Regina! I should have killed you years ago!”

“Listen here, Lady, you need to shut up before I shut you up!”

“Emma…” Regina warns, realizing too late that it was out loud, and not liking the gleam in her mother’s eyes.

“Emma? What a pretty name.”

“Thanks?” Emma looks to Regina who shrugs but still moves Emma behind her, looking over to check on the others, except they are gone and Regina’s heart drops into the pit of her stomach. _“Emma, just ignore her, we need to find the others.”_

_“Okay…back up slowly?”_

_“Sure.”_

They take a step back but Regina freezes when Cora pulls a coiled black ban from her pocket, “Stay, Regina, I want to get to know your soulmate.”

_“Regina?”_

_“This was the trap…we guessed the wrong trap, Emma, this is the–”_ Emma gasps as she sees the thing unravel her heart stopping as it cracks and Regina’s message is cut off as she cries out, falling to her knees as the belt cracks against her front.

“Regina!” Emma drops to her knees behind her, pulling her into her body, “Listen here, bitch, you touch her one more time and I’ll fucking end you!”

“I’m not scared of a child.” Cora sneers, bending down and grabbing Regina’s face to tug her closer and out of her grasp, “You know what I’m going to do to your pretty little soulmate, honey? I’m going to zap her until she begs me to let her die, cut up her perfect skin and watch you suffer, drown her and see how you react when she dies and then I’ll bring her back and do it again, every day until she or you give up.”

Tears pour from Regina’s eyes as she tries to break out of Cora’s grasp, “Please, mother, please I’ll be good, I promise, I’ll be–” Emma sobs as she cries out in pain when Cora slaps her hard across the face, bloody handprint on Regina’s cheek.

“Be quiet! You know the rules, child!”

Regina whimpers, but Emma realizes, she still keeps her body protectively in front of Emma, making sure she gets the brunt of all the pain.

_“Regina, we can, we can fight her, we can win.”_

_“I’ll be good, I’ll be good, I’ll be good,”_ Is the only thing Emma hears from her, so she reaches out, resting her hand between her shoulder blades, Regina leans back into her, absorbing the safety and strength Emma offers.

_“I love you, it’ll be okay.”_

Cora grips tightly onto Regina’s arm, so tight she can feel the bruise already forming and Emma can feel it tingling in her own arm and she wants to hold onto Regina, keep her close, but she’s not fast enough,  and before she can even react, Regina is pulled up to her feet, stumbling slightly.

_“I love you, Emma…I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry.”_

_“Hey, it’s okay, we’re going to be okay, I promise you, I’ll get us out of this.”_

_“Don’t do anything stupid.”_

_“We promised Henry.”_

Regina’s stumbling stops, the room stops, Emma knows that prickling, knows the buzz in the air, Regina is angry.

“You will cease and desist, Regina! Don’t think I won’t shock you again!” Regina growls, and Cora pulls a Taser out of her pocket and Emma’s heart starts galloping in fear, “Or better yet, I’ll shock your sweet Emma.”

“Don’t you dare touch her,” Regina growls and Emma can feel herself being nudged back, further away.

“Regina!” Emma cries as she hears the buzzing of the taser before it’s pressed to her stomach, Regina’s screams quiet but Emma’s are loud and pained, Regina’s body going limp in Cora’s hold while Emma convulses on the floor.

Last thing Emma hears is a sick little giggle and a man exclaiming, “How fascinating!” and then the distinct thud of Regina’s body hitting the ground…it also didn’t hurt that Emma felt the pain radiating through her, rattling in her foggy mind eventually the pain was too much and all too soon blackness consumed her mind her completely.

 

* * *

 

When they come too they’re in a room, Emma looks over to see Regina strapped to a table and her heart sinks when she recognizes the charges attached to her temples, _“Regina…baby, you okay? You awake?”_

 _“Emma…”_ she sighs, turning her head to look at her and sobs, “Stop, don’t talk to me.”

“Reg–”

“They’re watching,” Regina hisses, voice thick and pained, Emma’s own throat feels scratchy and the one syllable hurts to get out…is this why Regina doesn’t speak?

“Welcome, ladies, this will be fun,” Gold’s voice reaches their ears and Regina’s body trembles in fear.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Emma yells and the man laughs just before pain shoots through her body again and out of the corner of her eye she sees Regina’s back arch off the table.

“You speak, I hurt her.”

Emma whimpers, turning to look at Regina she tries to reach out for her back nothing happens and that’s when she notices she’s tied down too.

“Did you really think it would be that easy to break into a Level 1 facility?” Cora’s voice taunts and Emma wants nothing more than to break free from her restraints and break her neck.

Regina whimpers quietly, so small, so pained and Emma wants to kill everyone, where the hell are the others?!

“Your friends were captured and are now in holding.”

“What do you want with us?!”

“Answers. I want to destroy every single one of your kind until there’s nobody left but people like us.”

“You’re fucking crazy, lady!” Emma screams, tears falling from her eyes as she sees Regina arch up again, sees the veins and tendons in her neck tense, her blood pumping wildly with her erratic heartbeat, Regina’s head lulls so they lock eyes, silent conversation happening instantly, apologies said with sad eyes and reassurances given in sure stares.

“What did I tell you?”

Emma ignores her, just continues to stare at Regina’s bloodshot eyes, a plan made in an instant, “I love you,” Emma whispers and Regina smiles painfully at her before electricity is shot through her once again…why does she never make an actual sound? Has it always been this way? Were Regina and Emma the only ones able to hear her screams?

“It’s fascinating, they feel exactly what the other is feeling…”

“You’ll feel my fist in your face!” Emma sneers, tears flowing as Regina is shocked again, she hates this plan. Panting Emma looks toward the glass where she can see Cora and the creepy man, “Tell me,” Her tired lungs forcing her to pause to catch her breath again, “how does someone hate their baby so much for having a soulmate that they would throw an object at them?”

“You’ve been talking to Snow I see.”

“We have. And we know just who you are! We know that you’re a twisted psychopath with no empathy for her own child whom she’s spent her whole life abusing!”

“I’m the monster?! She can kill people with nothing but the sound of her voice, with the snap of her fingers!”

Emma laughs, tired and broken and strained as she says, eyes locked on Regina, “She has more compassion in a single strand of her hair than you do in your whole fucking body!” the last of the word cut off by her pained screams, her eyes locked on Regina’s for a second before she turns her head to face the ceiling. “Fuck you! I’m going to kill you!”

Cora laughs, and it sends chills through Emma’s burning and tingling skin, like someone threw a bucket of ice water over her, “Emma, dear, why don’t you tell me about yourself? I would really like to get to know the woman who shares a soul with my daughter.”

“Go,” Emma pants, “To,” Her jaw tenses before she spits, “Hell!”

The scream she lets out has Regina sobbing loudly, whimpering her name which only elongates the torture but when their bodies come down they turn to look at each other.

“Such a potty mouth you have, Emma, what were you, raised by wolves?”

Emma sneers, “Better than being a soulless monster!” they’re so weak, Emma can feel her body wanting to give up, can feel every nerve in her body on fire but she knows, she knows that they’re coming for them because nobody can hold off David and Mary Margaret. She sobs as the next current runs through them, she knows Regina must be hurting more, Emma’s not sure how she’s even awake, this must be sending her into so many flashbacks. “Okay, I’m sorry, just please, stop hurting her…I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”

“Where were you born?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me!”

“I’m not! I don’t know! I was a foster kid!”

Cora grins at her through the glass, tapping her lips thoughtfully, “Did you know, David and Mary Margaret had a daughter?”

“Yes. They gave her up to protect her from you!”

“Is that what they told you? I suppose it is true…they are just as vile as the both of you,” Emma glares at her before looking over at Regina when she feels her eyes boring into her soul, “Did they tell you their precious baby’s name?”

Emma looks over at her, frowning, “No, but that doesn’t matter. Like what is your problem, lady?! Your parents not love you enough or something?!”

Cora laughs, “My parents were soulmates, they despised me for not being like them.”

“So your parents were psychopaths too?” Honestly, it was worth the pain, Regina even looked proud at how flustered she made Cora.

“Emma,”

Her eyes shoot to the old woman, “What?!” She spits.

“That was her name, Emma, sweet little thing, fall baby if I’m correct…her birthday would actually be soon…22nd I believe,” Emma’s stomach twists, “How old are you, Emma?”

“22,” She looks over at Regina, tears falling from her eyes, “23 next week.”

Cora cackles, “Coincidence, I’m sure.”

Emma turns to glare at her, “What even is the point of this? Like what is your goal besides wiping us out? Like what’s your goal right this second? Are you just jealous that we found someone who has loved us forever and we will always be with?” They knew she was right from the sheer blinding pain that shot through them both, Emma was sure she had been shocked this time too as her skin burnt…the room was starting to smell like burning flesh.

“Emma…” Regina sighs, their eyes locking, “You can do this, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Emma smiles, feeling the restraints on her arms finally starting to shift, after this, she’s learning better control of her powers! “Hey, Cora? You wanna just give me a hint where the others are? Basement? This floor? Okay, under or above us? Okay above, how many above, 1? 2? 3? 3? Okay thanks, wanna give me the room numbers while you’re at it?” Emma has always taken pride in her facial reading and Cora looks confused and pissed and so Emma uses that moment to snap off her broken bonds courtesy of Regina and sits upright on the table, “I told you I was going to fucking kill you!” she yells as she runs across the room, glass shattering and the box controlling the machine exploding as Emma leaps through the window, punching Gold so hard in the face he passes out before he even hits the floor while her other hand wraps around Cora’s neck, “Say night night, bitch.”

Cora blinks and Emma punches her, once, twice, three times before she lets her fall to the ground, “Okay, baby, I’m coming for you,” Emma crawls back through the window, ignoring the glass digging into her gauze covered hands and tearing into her jeans but as she lands back in this fucking torture chamber she moves quickly to Regina’s side, “I got you, it’s all going to be okay now,” she promises, pulling the charges from Regina’s temples carefully so she doesn’t hurt her any further, Regina whimpers in pain when Emma touches her, it hurts Emma too but she pushes through it, focusing on breaking off the cracked bonds around Regina’s wrists and ankles. “You did so good, Reg, so good,” Emma says when they’re undone before she scoops her up into her arms, but as she tries to lift her all the muscles in her body scream and she collapses against Regina’s chest, her breathing heavy and erratic.

Regina whimpers in pain before she slowly moves her trembling hands up to comb soothingly through Emma’s hair, Emma taking comfort in the much steadier beat of Regina’s heart.

“Can you find the others? Break them out?”

 _“I can try,”_ Regina says, eyes squeezed shut as she looks through the building for anyone they know and smiles as she finds David, trying to get him free when the door opens, Regina’s eyes snapping open to look at it.

“Need some help?”

“Zel…” Regina rasps and Zelena rushes through the room, brushing hair from Regina’s face.

“You two okay?”

“Peachy,” Emma groans, “How are you, like, here?”

Zelena smirks, “Well, they all assumed I was normal, soulmateless, like them so I just spied until I found where they were keeping you two…can you walk?”

“I can barely breathe, Zelena,” Emma husks against Regina’s chest, Regina’s fingers still combing through her hair, “Just go get the others, they’re three floors up…”

“I’m not leaving you alone!”

“Unless you can carry two grown women you have no choice!” Zelena looks around, hears a groan from the other room, “they will wake up soon.”

“More reason to hurry! Regina and I can take care of ourselves.”

Zelena sighs when she feels a nudge from Regina, “If she tries anything else just…I know you don’t want to be like them but Regina, if they try to hurt you don’t hesitate to kill them.”

Regina nods and Zelena turns to run out of the room, Emma crawling awkwardly onto the torture table next to Regina, “At least you give me strength.”

Regina kisses her head, continuing to comb her fingers through her hair, her movements sluggish but she doesn’t care because it’s the only thing keeping her awake right now.

 

* * *

 

Regina continues combing her fingers through Emma’s hair, her eyes closed to block out the bright lights. Emma’s weight feels heavy against her chest, breathing still laboured and she can feel the quick anxious beating of her heart against her chest, can feel Emma’s anxiety curling around her. She’s not sure when she started singing, she’s not even sure how she remembers the song but she thinks daddy used to sing it to her when she had a nightmare, simple and easy and like some part of her clicks and she’s not scared, not in pain, all she cares about is Emma and the simple soft words from this song in Spanish because that much she knows, well they make her feel safe but they also lull Emma, calm Emma who isn’t used to these things like she is.

“Chiquitita, no hay que llorar Las estrellas brillan por ti allá en lo alto,” She continues to sing, and she can feel Emma’s smile growing against her neck.

“Your father used to sing that to you all the time,” Regina opens her eyes to David smiling across the room at her, “Drove your mother nuts.”

Regina chuckles as Emma grumbles into her neck, “How shocking, she hated lullabies too, what’s next puppies?”

“Let’s get you out of here,” David smiles, walking through the room, “Zelena, can you help Emma walk?” Regina grabs his hand when he reaches for them, shaking her head, “You’re in no condition to walk Regina.”

“I’m fine, been,” She gulps, “Worse.”

“I got her,” Zelena reassures and David nods, scooping Emma up into his arms and apologizing quietly when she whimpers, “Mother didn’t try anything?” Regina shakes her head, slowly sitting up from the table, bloody handprint still on her cheek and Emma’s blood now in smudges over her middle and sides, “Damn, Regina, you look like you slaughtered someone,” Regina smiles, swinging her legs over the table about to stand when Zelena scoops her up in her arms, “Hey, I’ve carried you before I can do it again.”

Regina smiles softly at her, lulling her head against Zelena’s shoulder as the woman carefully carries her out of the room, and as soon as they step out Regina moulds the door back into its frame just to be sure they can’t get out that way.

“Where are the others?” Emma asks as David places her on the ground before he drops down too, leaning against it like it’s the only thing keeping him upright.

“They’re coming, Mary Margaret is collecting the others and destroying private property.”

Emma lets out a tired laugh before turning to smile up at Regina before Zelena helps lower her to the floor next to Emma, “Is sitting around in the hallways really a good idea?” Zelena questions.

“Mary Margaret has us covered,” Emma smiles before tipping her head to rest against Regina’s shoulder, “You okay? You have a pretty voice.”

Regina smiles softly, movements sluggish still as she moves her hand to intertwine their fingers together. _“I’m fine, darling, just give me a moment and I’ll be ready to destroy the hierarchy again.”_

Emma giggles, tipping her head up to kiss the underside of Regina’s jaw, “What are we even going to do with them?”

“We could just blow this place up with them in it,” Zelena shrugs, sliding down the wall with her legs splayed out in front of her mirroring Emma and Regina, who are both glaring at her, “Oh don’t act like you weren’t thinking it! I saw what you did to her face! You too, Regina!” Regina’s head tilts to the side in confusion and Zelena laughs, “Darling, you broke her leg, arm, and put her in a coma for like three months! That’s why it took her so long to go all crazy psycho bitch.”

“That’s my girl,” Emma chuckles squeezing her hand, “and sure she like deserves to be blown to smithereens and everything but I don’t think murder is our best bet…I mean if she stormed out of that room with a gun I would definitely not be against snapping her neck like a twig but well she’s very much out of it still.”

“We could leave them locked up in the room until they starve or off themselves?”

“Let’s not,” Emma grimaces at the mental image, “Cora would prob eat Gold and her own arm to survive then come after us once she’s free.”

There was an utterance of agreement from everyone before a long sigh.

“Why are you all sitting out here?” they all turn to look up at Mary Margaret and Moana standing in the hallway with raised brows.

“What the hell happened to you guys?!”

Emma laughs wildly, “Just some light torture, kid, nothin major.”

Regina let out her own twisted laugh, dropping her head to rest on top of Emma’s.

“Fuck! Ya look like death!” Came the wonderful accented voice of Merida as she came from the other hall followed by Mulan who let out a gasp.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Swan!” Came Ruby’s voice and Regina laughs again.

_“Did you bring everyone into the heavily guarded building?”_

_“I left Tink and Elsa to watch the van?”_

_“Idiot.”_

Emma pulls her hand to her mouth and kisses it, “Any ideas about what to do with the mad scientists?”

“I’d vote on calling the cops but since they own the cops…”

“Don’t remind me,” Mulan mutters, sliding to the floor as Mary Margaret grumbles in agreement, leaning into David’s side, “Why don’t we just tear this place down with everyone in it? The whole cutting the head off the snake thing.”

“Isn’t the whole saying that two more will grow back?”

“That’s hydra.”

“This doesn’t feel much different.”

“I suggested blowing it up,” Zelena cuts into Emma and Mulan’s bickering unhelpfully.

“This place is run by the government, the only way to destroy it is to destroy the institution that let it flourish.”

They all look toward David, “Did he just suggest we assonate the president? Because I think that would be like shooting ourselves in the foot.”

“He’s saying we need to expose his dirty laundry,” Regina husks, swallowing thickly before she continues, “Show the world what’s really happening.”

“Yeah, Emma when we came to get you, the only thing you knew was what they told you, that Aberrants were dangerous,” Mulan points out.

“Hey, I also said I thought it was total BS and I didn’t believe it.”

 _“I know, darling.”_ Regina kisses the top of her head, eyes closed again.

“So what, we call some news stations and give em a big scoop? Write our own blog posts? Like no offence guys but they’ll think we’re making shit up.”

“The world already knows they’re taking people like us and there’s obviously some backlash against it considering how our soulmates keep getting arrested…and we’re literally sitting in a facility right now.”

“Too bad you missed the torture, bet that would have sent a message,” Emma grumbles and Regina lets out a bitter laugh.

“They do have security cameras…”

“Yes, which will also show us being very violent.”

They all sigh again, “You have me,” Regina speaks up, eyes locked on her instantly, Emma even pulling away to meet her eyes, “You have my whole life story, the daughter of the head of the Tentoria who was being held and tortured since she was 10.”

“That’s not a bad idea actually.” Merida thinks out loud, “I mean, we have all of our stories, the hundreds of Aberrants we have saved and others we haven’t yet…I’m sure you have a lot of stories too, Regina.”

Regina nods, smiling painfully. “And Mary Margaret and David have their story, about their daughter,” Regina looks at Emma when she says it but Emma is busy watching the older couple.

“We do,” Mary Margaret smiles painfully while David looks at them in shock.

“But that still doesn’t answer the question of what we do with Cora and everyone now, like we can’t just let them keep hurting people, hunting us.”

“I still vote we blow them up.”

Regina’s lips twitch with a smirk and Emma looks at her in shock, “You too?”

_“I personally would like to subject her to everything she has put me through my whole life but I doubt she’d last very long.”_

Emma squeezes her hand, leaning back against the wall, Regina’s head lulling to Emma’s shoulder this time as they all just think.

“We expose this place, charge Cora, Gold, and Whale with child abuse and endangerment, assault and battery…I mean attempted murder, kidnapping…because Regina was an innocent child that did nothing wrong…we can literally just throw the book at them the local police force isn’t directly attached to the Tentoria…”

“I call bullshit, it was a normal police officer who punched me in the face and forcefully restrained a toddler, they’re corrupt, Mary Margaret.”

“Why does killing seem like the only option?” They all look toward Moana, sitting in the middle of the hallway, “I’m not for that, I mean killing someone in self-defence is one thing but just blowing this place up…”

“We’re not murdering anyone,” David states, glaring at the others, “but we can’t let this place go either.”

“Oh! Okay wait, I got an idea!” Emma exclaims, “I need a computer! Lots of computers, I have friends who can help us!” Emma tries to shoot to her feet but she doesn’t move and pouts at them, “Remind me to never get tortured again, kay?”

_“Deal.”_

“There’s a bunch just around, one for sure in Mother’s office,” Zelena states, “I’ll take you.”

“Great! Now, just like, pick me up,” Zelena chuckles, grabbing onto Emma’s outstretched hands and yanking her to her feet and holding her up as Emma sways, “Okay, Merida, you and Moana watch this door, rest of you, with me.”

David scoops Regina up off the floor while Mulan takes Emma from Zelena, piggybacking her through the halls and to the top floor that houses the offices.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, bring that over here,” Emma instructs from where she’s sitting at a large conference table typing away at a computer.

_“I still don’t understand what you’re planning.”_

Emma chuckles, “I’m surprised, did you somehow miss my whole rebel hacker stage?”

_“Rebel hacker?”_

Emma turns to flash her a smile as Regina sit’s in the corner where a plant once was but now it’s destroyed in the hall and Regina has made it her safe space, “Yeah, who do you think started the work on your walky-talky thingy…Basically, I just need to contact a buddy from those days, start a live streaming thing that we will broadcast everywhere and you guys will tell your stories…”  She looks back at the computer, lower lip pulled between her teeth, “Just watch through my eyes.”

David puts another monitor next to her and Emma grins, “Rubes, set that up for me will ya?”

“Would be my honour.”

Emma types on that thing for what feels like hours, and Regina doesn’t understand the odd code or the cryptic messages but they are familiar, and Regina is starting to remember this friend when Emma exclaims in victory, “They’ve contacted me and…he’s in!”

She clicks a few buttons and a man’s face pops up on one of the three screens, “Fuck, WK, what happened to you?!”

“My soulmates mom is a fucking cunt!” Regina blushes slightly but she still smirks in agreement, “Like I said this is dangerous and some people are going to try and shut this down so if you can contact Rapunzel and the White Rabbit that would be great!”

“Already did, hold up, patching them in!” a moment later two faces of young girls were on the screen, not at all what the others expected but Regina remembers them as soon as she sees them.

“So I hear we’re destroying the whole government system?”

Emma smiles and nods, “You two will fight off anyone who tries to shut us down, Baelfire, you need to hack us into every screen in the whole world.”

“What, I’m not invited into these things anymore?” Another man’s voice joins them, “I may tell no lies but I still prefer not to beg my boyfriend to let me take down a government organization.”

“Pinocchio!” Emma chuckles, “I can’t believe you had to beg! He should know better by now! You can help him,” Emma turns in her chair, smiling at Regina, “You ready, babe?”

_“As I’ll ever be…but there’s one thing, Emma…everything hurts. How do you expect me to share my whole life story?”_

“I got you,” Emma smiles brightly at her before hitting a few keys on the third computer, “okay, do your thing.”

 _“My thing?”_ **“My thing?”** the computer echoes and Regina smiles brightly at her.

“I got the word out, WK, a bunch of hackers are prepared to send you live when you’re ready!”

“Thanks, guys!” Emma grins, pushing the rolly chair back and walking it toward Regina, “It’s time, I’ll be with you the whole time,”

Regina takes Emma’s outstretched hand, letting her pull her to her feet and slowly walk her to the computers, lowering herself into another chair before Emma tugged her close, so they were both in front of the camera, Regina’s eyes dropping away as she raises her hand self-consciously to her hair and then her temple, hissing when she touches the fresh burns.

They ignore the gasps as Emma keeps typing, the others running around the room as orders are given and her own group of darknet hackers focus on continuing the rushed code Emma is writing.

It’s another 30 minutes before the first guy announces, Baelfire Regina believes is his name, “You are live in, 3, 2, 1,” he points to the screen and Regina is honestly shocked when the computers in the room, all five of them, simultaneously light up with their faces, while Ruby and the Pinocchio guy mutter about being live on every screen around the world.

“Uh, hi, sorry for interrupting your day, night, favourite program but this is important. My name is Emma Swan and this is my soulmate, Regina Mills, we are what they call Aberrants and we’re here today to beg you for your help, you see every day dozens of us are taken away from our families and tortured, held in small cages and treated like nothing…we’re always hiding and running as these people hunt us, the Tentoria and most specifically Cora Mills, Regina’s own mother.”

Emma looks over at Regina and smiles encouragingly, “You see, Cora runs these places and she’s told me personally that her plan is to kill all people with soulmates until we no longer exist, maybe you don’t particularly care about the grownups this is happening to, but just imagine, your own baby being taken from your arms as soon as their eyes come in to show they have a soulmate somewhere out there…because that’s the future we’re approaching…and if we don’t do something, a year from now that could very much be our reality,” Emma looks pleadingly at the camera, “We have people here today who are willing to share their stories in these places, they are real people, second guess everything you ever were told about them being dangerous because they’re not.”

Emma turns to Regina, lacing their fingers together and squeezing reassuringly, _“Go ahead, you got this.”_

 **“Hello,”** Regina looks at the computer with a large smile, feeling the dried blood on her cheek pull, she wishes they had cleaned it off, **“My name is Regina, and you’re probably wondering why I’m not speaking to you right now, why you hear an automated voice instead of a person’s, well I’m here to explain to you how 12 years in a Tentoria facility took away my freedom to speak, let alone to actually have a normal life,”** She looks into the camera, heart slamming into her ribcage, **“I was taken away when I was 10 years old, I don’t remember much from before that place, my daddy’s face is mostly a blur, his voice…I couldn’t tell you if it was low, smooth, or even kind…but I can tell you about every sensation your body feels when you’re being electrocuted, about the smell of burning hair and skin. I can tell you what it’s like to die, to want to die, to drown, starve, be beaten until your back is soaked in your own blood and you can’t move for weeks but well they don’t actually let you have that in these places, the next day I was submerged in a salt bath while my own mother watched on, told them my pain wasn’t enough.”** She wipes away at the tears running down her cheeks, **“When I was ten years old I was ripped out of my daddy’s arms during our tea party, I remember the tea set crashing to the floor, I remember the pain and my own screams…I remember the bruises and Mother’s words saying that beasts like me shouldn’t be allowed in this world. It was the day I told my mother about the beautiful blonde girl in my mind, the one with a missing tooth and who liked to draw puppies on her school work…that’s all I did, I told my mother about my soulmate, I didn’t even know I had powers until I got to the facility and my mother told me the shaking in our home when they brought me was my fault, that the earthquake that destroyed my room when I was nine was also probably my fault…I did nothing wrong, all I did was love.”**

Emma looks at her, wiping tears from her cheek with the back of her hand and staring in horror at the blood on it for a few moments before shaking her head.

 **“I was held in a tiny 6x6 stone room for 12 years, I never was allowed outside, the only people I saw were the people who hurt me every day, the people who watched me to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid while I showered…my whole life I was watched, held, treated like an animal, a monster, like property. At 11 my mother informed me of my father’s passing, my emotions caused infrastructural damage, my screams etched words into walls, that was the last time I was allowed to speak. After that I didn’t much feel like speaking at all anyways, because I was left alone for the day, no food, no water, anything, I went to the bathroom on myself, felt such intense pain, and after they cuffed me, my mother and Doctor Gold stripped me down, held me under burning water to wash me, I cried but couldn’t move…everything hurt and my whole body felt like it was on fire, but Mother wasn’t done yet,  still, after all that, they strapped me to a table and shot electricity through my body to punish me for my outburst. That was when I stopped speaking altogether, scared for what might happen if I uttered another word. Most days I still can’t though sometimes I manage, like today, today I said more than I had in 11 years, but as you can see, it was at a great cost,”** She turns her head to show off the scars, **“I have scars covering all my body, most are from here, but not all, my mother, she is a vile woman, the people who work for her aren’t any better, and I’m not the only kid they’ve ever taken, I’m just the only one to have survived for 12 years. I’ve watched dozens of people come and go, my mother has killed them all, some for trying to stick up for me, some just because they were annoying her, because they wouldn’t shut up…others because she got what she needed…I can promise you, none of them went easy, I can promise you that probably more than half died during tests, tests run and created by Doctor Gold.”**

**“I don’t know how to make you comprehend exactly how horrible this place really is, that these people aren’t looking out for your safety like they want you to believe. Children can’t harm you, an officer protecting her partner isn’t a danger to you, a waitress isn’t going to kill you just because she can stir your coffee with her mind. A young boy was recently taken, why you ask? Because he tried to save his mother from getting hit by a car, he reacted on instinct, his emotions reacted for him. If we don’t teach children how to control it things will happen because all they know is they need to hide it or they will be taken away, taken for loving someone, for a thing outside their control. We’re not dangerous, we’re scared, we’re prisoners, we’re children who grew up our whole lives scared that one day we will be taken away, and when it does happen we are brought to places that treat us like nothing but science experiments, like property, until we believe it ourselves, until we don’t see our own self-worth, until we don’t realize that it is not normal to have strange men and women watching you shower, that you shouldn’t prefer to sleep on the hard cold ground over a comfortable bed. That you shouldn’t be able to know just how small you can make your body if you need to hide…how to protect your organs, your head.”**

She shakes her head, looking at Emma, **“You should be able to understand, to know, to see love in someone’s eyes, to know how to do something as simple as smiling, because I didn’t, I didn’t know how to smile, to accept affection, I forgot what the outside world looked like, what sun on my skin felt like, but I could hold my breath for 30 minutes, I learnt to cry without a sound, to survive off of little to no food for days at a time. When I first escaped I was half the size I am now, you could see almost all my ribs, my hair was matted and dirty and, I stunk, they hadn’t let me shower in…you know what, it had been so long I actually can’t remember, all I can still remember is the way the new guard was looking at me as I did so my emotions reacted and I tore the pipes from the walls. I don’t know many things that someone my age should, but I’m learning because of amazing people but today, today Emma and I were strapped to a table, electrocuted and questioned, I was hit and whipped, today for the first time in four months I felt that sheer pain again, but so did the woman I love and all they had to say for it was _‘how fascinating’_ our connection is that we feel each other’s pain, that my quiet screams come out of Emma’s mouth…having a soulmate isn’t a reason to be punished, having telekinetic powers isn’t a reason to be locked up and tortured for. **

**My name is Regina Mills, at ten years old my own mother took me from my home and spent the next 12 years torturing me, torturing others, and creating this epidemic of an organization out of the success of holding a child captive for 12 years.”**

Regina looks at Emma, smiles softly, **“All I want is the freedom to be with the woman I love, to raise a family with her, to sit outside on a nice day or maybe go for a walk…you know, I haven’t been shopping in 12 years, I’m excited to go to the grocery store someday…but if people like my mother and the Tentoria are out there I’ll never be safe, we’ll never be safe and, neither will you.”**

“Someone is trying to shut us down,” Came White Rabbit’s panicked voice and they look over at her for a second before staring back into the camera.

“When I was just nine months old I was dropped at a hospital, wrapped in just a knitted blanket with my name on it, Emma, that’s all I was given. When I was 15 my foster mother, Ingrid told me my parents were Aberrant and that the Tentoria took them away, about a year later they took away Ingrid too and I never heard of her again. You see, I grew up in the same world as you, just a normal girl, but I had a soulmate, my eyes told that to the world so as I grew up and the world started changing I, like all of you, was forced to follow the new law, the one that stated that we couldn’t touch, that’s a law, touching isn’t allowed…we have come to a point where the Tentoria tells us we can’t hug our friends, can’t shake a strangers hand in greeting…is this the world you want to live in? A world where people are torn from their families? Because your family might just be next, someone you love could be next and they could and probably will die in these places and you’ll never know what happened to them, like I never found out what happened to Ingrid, the only mother I ever knew. You need to understand, this isn’t new, this started 22 years ago right under our noses, all with a little baby girl who was fated to love me, fated to a mother who couldn’t love her, to a woman who doesn’t care about anything but power, control, her sick sense of justice. It started with one woman who was so scared of people with soulmates she wanted to destroy them all.”

Emma pushes her chair to the side, “You two are on.” She says to the couple sitting behind them.

 

* * *

 

Mary Margaret and David were just in the middle of recounting their lives when Baelfire catches Emma’s attention, “Whoa, Em, you’re not going to believe this.”

Emma rolls her chair around David and Mary Margaret as they explain why they started the underground, for their daughter…which, well  Emma needs to talk to them about that after all of this is over. “What is it?”

“This creep has files. Hundreds of files and videos files…I…Em, you’re not going to like this, but, they’re of Regina…she’s…Em, she’s so young.”

Regina looks at the computer, jaw set, “Play it.”

“Reg–”

**“Play them.”**

“Okay,” Baelfire says, they hear a few buttons being clicked and Emma rolls her chair to the screen to talk to the audience who according to Ruby is still actively watching.

“I just got word that there are video recordings of some of the tests, I don’t know how graphic they will get and I’m sorry but I think you will all agree that it’s something you need to see,” She says before nodding to Baelfire, one more press of a key and on the screen was a scrawny little Regina, hair down past her waist and obviously unkempt, you could see her collarbones from under her too big dress, the thing hanging off her small frame, a fresh scar on her upper lip and burns on her temples, she was pacing the room, grey stone walls and every once in a while she looked anxiously at the camera.

**_“You will do as I say, child or it’s back to the shock room for you!”_ **

Regina shook her head, small and scared, but a few seconds later a giant weight is shakily moving across the floor.

Baelfire cuts it, changing to one of what looks like Regina in a tub, as soon as he hits play a man comes onto screen, Regina looking scared, Emma knows this day because Regina told her about it, her hold tight on Regina’s hand as she watches the grown man, Doctor Gold, drown her.

“Next.”

It changes and Regina’s hold loosens just a little bit, closing her eyes for this next one, it’s from her early days she’s guessing because she is screaming, the little her on the screen is screaming so loudly.

“Turn them off,” Emma demands, standing up to walk away, “What else is in those files?”

“I haven’t decrypted them all, but, Em, there’s more than just Regina in these.”

“Play them.”

“Okay,” He says and starts playing them all, so many people, it’s after the fifth one that he stops, he stops because the prisoner, a young woman, dies on camera.

Emma sighs, looking at the screen, “Please, we need your help, if you have any compassion there’s people who need your help, innocent people are dying, being tortured as we speak, so please, _help us._ Call your senators, mayors, the press, the president, your friends/family/neighbours in the army, anyone! Call them and demand they stop this madness because we aren’t the dangerous ones, the Tentoria is and your leaders are allowing this to happen, they paid for this place, this equipment. Demand justice for people like them, like Regina, children and adults like her…”

**“Justice for Daniel, Ashley, Robin, Ingrid, Sarah, Isabella, Charlie, Emily, Arthur…and those are the names I remember, the eyes are another story.”**

Emma reaches between David and Mary Margaret and hits the end button, “Let’s hope that helps, now, how about we get out of here?”

“Please,” Ruby says and they stand up Emma smiling at Baelfire and the others.

“Thanks for your help, you want to keep hacking this place, release all those videos and files…maybe we can put names to some of those faces.”

“Of course, WK.”

“Let’s go get the others!” Emma calls and they pack up, Emma wrapping her arm around Regina’s waist as they help each other walk.

 

* * *

 

“Let’s go home…I miss the kid.”

Regina smiles, leaning back into Emma and nudging her cheek with her nose so Emma turns to kiss her soundly, both smiling into the kiss before comments from the others about getting a room were heard, breaking the seriousness of the last few days in an instant.

The rest of the drive home doesn’t take them long and when they arrive Henry is rushing toward them, although he pauses to stare at the blood covering them. “I told you to not do anything stupid!”

Emma laughs and Regina smirks, both pulling the boy into a group hug as Regina says, “And I told you Emma always does something stupid once.”

Henry grumbles in annoyance but still hugs them tightly, both trying not to wince from the pain of it because it might hurt but their little boy was worth all the pain in the world.

“Okay, kid, this is great and I wanna keep hugging but I’m itching for a shower, literally, itching.” Emma squirms out of the hold and scratches her arms making Henry and Regina chuckle.

**“Me too, Henry, I really would like to wash off all this blood and sweat…”**

Henry pulls back from her, nose wrinkled, “Yeah, you both really do stink.”

“Thanks, kid, love you too.”

Henry rolls his eyes, “I love you guys, now go clean up, I’ll just go get Granny to start making you all food.”

“Best. Kid. Ever!” Emma calls, kissing the top of his head before running off toward their room.

“Love you, Henry,” Regina says, kissing his head just like Emma had before rushing after her, Henry turning when he hears a thud to see Emma flat on her ass and Regina leaping over her.

“Not fair!”

**“Blood, Miss Swan! So much blood!”**

Emma scrabbles to her feet, running after her, Henry’s face contorting in disgust as he hears Emma yell, “We could always just shower together!”

 

* * *

 

 

When they get out of the shower and into comfy clothes they meet the others in the main room, they are all sitting around a big table as they eat all the greasy food they can and fill everyone in on what had happened, Emma making everything sound much more epic, much more fun than it actually was. Henry is hanging off every word, tucked snuggly between the two women, sharing a large sundae with them at the end of the meal, their voices loud and happy and for the first time in Regina’s life, she knows what it’s like to have family. And for the first time in Emma’s she knows what it’s like to have that massive family she always dreamed of, and she hopes that her gut is right and it’s about to become a whole lot bigger.

“Can I talk to you after this?” Emma asks David and Mary Margaret and they nod with massive smiles, before David goes back to talking with Regina, telling her a story about the time he and her father went fishing together, Regina looks so happy that even if Emma wasn’t correct she knew that these people would be in their lives forever, and Emma was sure David would be walking them both down the aisle and crying all over Mary Margaret.

Everyone soon left the table, to sleep or spend time with their loved ones, leaving behind just them, Henry, and Zelena whom Emma didn’t mind having around for this talk.

“When we were with Cora she told us some things…”

“Like what, kiddo?” David asks, leaning forward on the table.

“That your daughter’s name was Emma as well…”

They smile softly, “It was.”

“And that she was born in late October.”

“Yes, that’s true. What’s this about, sweetheart?” Mary Margaret asks with that soft motherly smile of hers.

“23 years ago to be exact.”

“Yes.”

Emma looks at them with hopeful eyes, “I was born October 22nd, the person that dropped me off had mentioned it I guess, I was 9 months old, wearing ducky PJ’s and wrapped in a baby blanket, it was white and had purple ribbon around the edges and in purple yarn my name was sown into it.”

David and Mary Margaret have tears in their eyes, looking at each other then at Emma with wide smiles, “That makes so much sense now…”

“What?”

David laughs, “You have her eyes, Emma, and,”

“His chin…”

They shake their heads, “And like me, after you touched your soulmate you became Aberrant, we did tests after Cora, found out I had a dormant Aberrant gene that was activated when David and I touched, and it must be genetic.”

“So,”

“We suspected, from the beginning honestly but we weren’t sure…and we didn’t want to scare you off. But, Emma, even if you weren’t ours we consider you our child…both of you,” Mary Margaret reaches out, cupping Emma’s cheeks in her hands, “But yes, sweetheart, we do believe you’re our Emma…especially since Ingrid was the one to tell you about your parents, she was a part of the underground, I believe she knew just who you were and wanted to protect you.”

“And well you did just describe the exact thing our girl was wearing when we saw her last,” David smiles sheepishly.

Tears are pouring from Emma’s eyes, Regina’s hand is rubbing her back and, “Mom, Dad?” she’s yanked into a tight hug, Regina pulled into it a second later, laughter filling the small circle as Henry squishes into it, pulling a reluctant Zelena with him.

They were a family, they would always be family, just like she thought, everyone in this building was family, all their soulmates were family…and Emma and Regina were both so excited to see where it went from here.

_“I love you, my darling.”_

_“I love you too, Reggie,”_ Emma laughs when Regina flicks her ear, and it’s perfect.

 

* * *

 

It’s close to a year when they start seeing progress, trials scheduled against her mother and Gold, facilities slowly being shut down and prisoners released. It takes time but slowly the light begins to show at the end of the tunnel, they know it could take decades for everyone involved to get what’s coming to them but they can at least happily say a good 75% of the facilities have been shut down.

It’s moving a lot faster internationally of course, and campaigns sprout up everywhere, protests even, no day is silent, they’re always fighting, even now, working to reveal people that funded the Tentoria, still rescuing people until the last of the prisoners are let free. It’s been a long tiring year and it doesn’t get easier, every day a new name revealed, a new body found, and the knowledge that one day she will be called to testify, but today, today is a small victory amongst many because Mother and Doctor Gold have been indicted by the grand jury and it doesn’t hurt to see that happen, it doesn’t cure over two decades of pain but it does soothe her soul a bit.

Videos and data are still being unearthed and released, people are slowly being identified. Regina vows to find the family of Daniel to tell them what happened with him, to find the family of the doctor who was the on of the first people to show her kindness...Emma and the rest vowed to help her, all of them sure that they won’t rest until everyone is exposed and every single family has closure, that every Aberrant is free...even if it takes the rest of their lives.


	8. Epilogue

**5 years later**

 

“Moms?! We’re running late!” Henry’s voice echoes through the room and Regina turns from where she is to look back at him, voice so low, and he’s so much taller than them both now.

“Coming, dear!” Regina calls, looking back down at the thing keeping her up, “Always before we leave the house, huh?” the little giggle makes her smile.

“Mama! Smelly!”

“Yes, you’re very smelly,” She snickers, tossing the poopy diaper into the trash, “We will work on your gift giving next year, okay little man?”

“Kay, Mama!”

Regina bends down to kiss the tip of his nose before putting on his new diaper and his cute little dress pants, “Look at you, Davie! Such a handsome boy!” She announces as she lifts him up onto her hip, carrying him out of the little alcove.

“Emma!” Regina calls, passing the boy to Henry, “I need to go wash my hands. Where’s your mother?”

“Uh,” Henry looks around, “I dunno, probably the usual.”

Regina laughs, walking past him and heading into the bathroom to wash her hands.

“Hey, kid, uh, you see Hope around?” Emma looks panicked and Henry laughs.

“Not again, Ma…”

Davie giggles, “Hi, Ma!”

“Hi Davie!” Emma smiles widely, kissing his chubby cheek. “And you know how sneaky your sister is!”

“She’s one, Emma, how do you always lose her?” Regina growls, moving past them, “Hope, baby! Time for the party! Hope Elizabeth Swan-Mills so help me,” Regina looks at Emma with her panicked eyes.

“Relax, she’s around here somewhere…” that’s when they hear an excited squeal.

“How is it you always lose her, seriously, Emma?!”

“It’s not my fault! I turned around for one second to get her bow and then poof!”

They rush toward the squealing, Regina knowing just where her daughter has gone to, “Of course,” Regina sighs when they enter the kitchen, little Hope sitting on the floor, cookie jar in front of her and two half eaten cookies in her hands. “Baby, what did I say about running off on your Ma?”

“Cookie, Mama!”

Regina bends down, picking her up off the floor and accepting the cookie Hope shoves in her face.

“Of course our child would develop Aberrant abilities at the ripe age of one.”

“I mean, she was actually 11 months when they developed.”

Emma rolls her eyes affectionately, snatching the other cookie from Hope, “You know mama won’t let you have cake now, right?”

Hope’s bottom lip wobbles and Regina chuckles, kissing her and making the toddler giggle, “Cake, mama?”

“Small piece, it is your birthday, after all.”

“Mamas!” Davie screams, loud footsteps reaching their ears and they turn to face the small blonde haired boy with his bright green and blue eyes.

“Davie!” they both yell and the toddler giggles as he runs into Emma’s legs, grinning up at her.

“Birfday party now?” Emma laughs, scooping him up and bopping him on the nose.

“Birthday party now.”

“Happy birthday, Davie!”

“Hap birfday, Hopie!” the two toddlers giggle and Emma and Regina share a smile as they walk out of the kitchen to find Henry with the diaper bag on one shoulder and the gift bag on the other.

“Henry!” Hope squeals chocolate all around her mouth.

“I see someone found the cookies,” Henry snickers, kissing a chubby cheek. “Ready, moms?”

“Yup, let’s go before they do anything else crazy!”

Henry nods, leading the way out of the front door and into their car.

 

* * *

 

 

They pull up to the large building, nostalgia filling them all as they look at the large metal door that used to be home to them, Emma knocking while Davie plays with her hair.

“You’re here!” Merida exclaims as the door flies open, “your parents are out of control! Why did you let them decorate?!”

Emma laughs, “It can’t be that bad…” Her eyes land on the place and sees that she was very wrong.

_“Oh, it’s very bad…”_

Emma grimaces looking back at Regina, _“At least young kids like bright colours.”_

Regina laughs, looking across the room as Mary Margaret exclaims, “You’re here! Don’t you love it?!” they both flash a pained smile, “Give me my grandbabies!”

“Both of them?”

“Yes, both of them,” Mary Margaret rolls her eyes, as they place the toddlers on the floor the twins throwing their little bodies at Mary Margaret’s legs.

“Emma! Regina!” David calls, “Little ones!” He yells as the toddlers barrel into him, “Hey, sport, how’s the college search going?”

“Good, I mean, I did help take down an evil government entity so every place we go to is just all over my moms.”

David laughs, picking the twins up in both arms and kissing their cheeks, “We have a ball pit!” they cheer and Emma and Regina share a pained expression.

_“Guess we can just forget sleeping tonight, huh?”_

_“Perhaps they’ll tire themselves out…”_ Regina offers, wrapping her arms around Emma’s waist and leaning her head on her shoulder, looking out at the large group of people fawning over their children.

“Henry!” Lilo calls and the boy moves into the crowd, dropping the bags on the table as he pulls her into a tight hug followed by Moana.

“Hey, kiddo!” Mulan smiles, ruffling his hair as she walks toward Emma and Regina.

“Hey, Mulan.”

“Hey, Swan, Regina,” She says and Regina steps forward to pull her into a tight hug, “They’re getting so big!”

“Right! How is your little one?”

“Potty trained!” Mulan looks ecstatic and Regina can’t wait for the day when poopy diapers are no longer a thing she has to deal with.

“Auntie Em, Auntie Reg!” The little girl squeals as she runs through the sea of colourful balloons, Nani behind her looking very annoyed at having to trudge through it.

“Bailey!” they exclaim, bending down with open arms as the toddler leaps into their embrace.

There’s a knock at the door and they turn to look at it, Merida brushing past them and opening it, letting out a surprised squeal as the woman jumps into her arms, placing a kiss to her lips.

“Sorry, got hung up at the office,” she says as she pulls back, grinning down at Emma and Regina, “Hello, ladies.”

“Hey, Marian, saved any lives today?”

Regina stands up, little Bailey still in her arms as she turns to give the other woman a one armed hug.

“Your wife is a smartass.”

Emma chuckles, smiling fondly at Regina, “I know, it’s one of the many reasons I love her.”

“And for your information, Mills, I did, one little girl in England is getting a new heart because of me.” They share a teasing grin before Marian continues, “Did you hear that Senator Wallace apparently helped fund the Tentoria?”

Regina and Emma share a look, nothing surprises them anymore to be honest...I mean after all the names revealed over the past 5 years Wallace isn’t the most shocking.

“Okay, door is getting a little crowded, nobody will be able to get through it in a minute,” Merida says, wrapping her arm around Marian, “So like, join the party.”

Their eyes lock on Merida and Regina’s mouth curls in a soft smile.

“But, balloons…” Emma pouts, breaking the tension and Regina rolls her eyes affectionately, clearing a path for them.

“Better, princess?”

“Much, my queen,” She winks and Mulan takes her daughter back as Regina gives Emma that look, the one that usually means they should cover their eyes.

“So we have punch!” Nani announces as she leads Marian through the sea of balloons toward the group.

“Hey! You coming over here?!” Tink yells, Hope sitting in her lap playing with Vidia’s hair, Tink’s soulmate who they found a year after they were free.

“In a minute!” Emma calls back, pulling Regina into her and pecking her lips, “Looks like we aren’t the ones being late for once.”

Regina laughs against her lips, “Yes, it appears my sister is getting the honour today.”

“Get a room!” Ruby yells, Davie giggling at a joke he doesn’t get.

Dorothy slaps her arm, “Give them a break! They have two toddlers and are still so very young.”

Granny walks out of the kitchen, arm wrapped around Tiana, “I love this girl! Elsa, sweetie, I’m stealing your wife away, she’s staying here to help in the kitchen.”

Tiana laughs and Elsa smirks, “Well you can have her during the weekdays but I get nights and weekends,” She winks and Tiana rolls her eyes.

“Hope! Look at you! Your eyes have set in!” She looks toward Davie, “And yours too, little man!”

“Oh, that’s not all Hope has gotten…” Emma mutters and Regina chuckles from where she’s tucked her head into Emma’s neck, breathing her in.

It’s a few moments later when they hear a knock on the door again and Regina uses her powers to open it, smiling widely at Zelena and her soulmate Belle.

“Hey, baby sis!”

“Hey, Zel,” Regina smiles, pulling away from Emma and standing on her tippy toes to hug Zelena tightly, “Got lost?”

Zelena chuckles, pulling back to kiss her cheeks in greeting, Belle answering the question for her as she pulls out of her quick hug with Emma, “I made the grave mistake of letting her drive.”

Regina laughs, pulling out of her hug with Zelena to hug the other woman tightly, Emma and Zelena hugging.

“So how’s my niece and nephews?”

“Wonderful! Henry has been accepted to every school he applied to!” Regina gushes, stepping away from Belle to wrap her arm around Emma’s waist again, pulling her in close.

“Every school?”

Emma laughs, blushing slightly, “Apparently helping end the Tentoria at the age of 12 and getting adopted by the two women personally responsible for its downfall is a big uh…turn on for colleges.”

“Not to mention he’s a very bright boy with straight A’s, a 4.0 GPA, school valedictorian, student body pre–”

Zelena laughs, reaching out to squeeze Regina’s shoulder as she says, “Relax, I know, I’m in the group chat.” Regina blushes but she’s never been anything but proud of all her children.

“Mama! Look! Balloon!” Hope exclaims and by the surprised gasps from everyone in the building, they know that there is definitely a balloon floating around.

Regina turns and her jaw drops while Emma bursts into laughter, for all the balloons in the room, are floating in the air, “Very good, baby! Can you tell me the colours?”

“Really?” Emma whispers and Regina shrugs, pride covering her face as she watches her.

“Um…Red!” She calls out, the red balloons the only ones in the air.

“Yeah, what else?”

“Pink!” She squeals, the pink balloons shooting up and almost hitting the roof, Davie squealing excitedly.

“That’s your favourite right?”

“Yes! Very favourite!” Regina chuckles at the slightly garbled words as she steps away from Emma, leading the group through the balloons and moving them out of her face, plucking a purple one from the air before she stops in front of her sweet little girl in Mary Margaret’s lap, “What about this one?”

“Purple! Like mama's eyes!” Regina’s smile is so large her face nearly splits in half as she scoops the little brunette girl from her grandma’s arms.

“Any other colours?”

“Yellow! Like hair!” Davie screeches, holding out his own shaggy blond locks making his parents chuckle.

“Very good, baby,” Regina says, walking to Emma as she scoops up the boy, kissing his little button nose that he got from Emma too.

“Mamas, want play?” Regina flashes him a dazzling smile, Emma has always loved that smile, since the first time she saw it directed at Henry.

“Of course, baby!”

“Yeah, Junior, we’d never say no to playing! Right, Hope?!”

“Right!” She exclaims, balloons falling all around them making Bailey squeal excitedly and half the adults laugh, Henry batting away a balloon and hitting David in the head with it making everyone laugh this time, Davie most of all.

“Grampa gain!”

“I thought you wanted to play, little man?” Emma pouts and Davie’s eyes widen in shock.

“Ball pit, Ma! Ball pit!”

“Of course, now where is this ball pit I keep hearing about?”

“I got it,” Regina smirks, leading the way as she uses her powers to find the ball filled room because she can still do that damn thing! Emma can never sneak up on her!

Although she doesn’t hate getting stuck behind the woman because it’s a fantastic view! Emma didn’t think Regina could get any more beautiful but over the last 5 years, she’s just become gorgeous, breathtaking…honestly, Emma thinks she gets more beautiful by the day, the minute, heck, the second!

_“Eyes up, Swan.”_

_“Swan-Mills.”_ Emma whines and Regina turns back to flash her a wide smile, to think they got married three years ago next month…though they adopted Henry two years and ten months before that…who knew life would end up this perfect?

“Ma! Walk faster! Mama gets way!”

Emma laughs at Davie’s demand, running to catch up with her wife and daughter.

 

* * *

 

 

Regina’s laughter will always be music to her ears, her favourite thing to hear, and after the twins were born their laughter went up there next to Henry’s, so hearing all the people she loves so much laughing together as they watch the twins try and dig out Emma from under all the balls, how can she ask for anything else?

Emma shoots up from under them grabbing onto Regina and pulling her under with a loud scream, the twins both screaming, “Mama!” Through giggles jumping onto them as Henry falls over in a fit of laughter.

Emma kisses Regina’s temple, hugging her close to her as the twins push the balls away from their faces to kiss them too, sloppy and loud, warming her heart.

“Pile on, Moms!” Henry yells just before his full grown 17-year-old ass leaps on top of them, them gasping in shock as the twins climb onto Henry’s back and start bouncing.

“Moms. Can’t. Breathe,” Emma gasps out and Henry wraps his arms behind him to hold onto the twins as he sits back, laughing loudly as Regina sits up, glaring half-heartedly at Emma and then him.

“I think mama wants hugs and kisses!” Henry announces, releasing the monsters to run at them kissing and hugging Regina while Emma lays under them, brushing away Hope’s long curls.

“Time for cake!” Mary Margaret’s voice reaches them and the twins stare expectantly down at them.

“Mamas, cake!” Davie says, gripping Regina’s face in his chubby little hands.

“Cake! Cake! Cake!” Hope chants, bouncing next to Emma before pressing her forehead to Regina’s temple and saying, “Please cake?” Pout perfectly in place.

“Of course!” Regina exclaims, scooping up both twins in one move and walking easily from the ball pit as the balls move to make a path, Davie clapping excitedly and giggling as Emma flounders to get out of the growing pile of balls, Henry’s hand in her face her saving grace.

“Need a hand, ma?”

Emma grips it, letting him pull her up and she wraps her arm around him as they walk out of the back room that they used to use for training but Mary Margaret apparently now has turned into a temporary ball pit.

“Oh no…” Emma mutters, as she sees the two cakes being walked out of the kitchen, “She’s going to kill your grandparents” she tells Henry. _“Okay, babe, don’t be mad…”_

_“Why would I–”_

“Cakes!”

“Mama, Thomas!” Davie yells pointing at the cake.

_“I’m going to kill them…”_

_“Wait until after the kids fall into a sugar coma…they don’t need to witness their grandparents’ demise.”_

“Two cakes, Snow?” Regina grumbles, Emma kind of loves that she started using the woman’s codename, it’s like a nickname…I mean it was decided after Regina refused to call Snow mom but still, it was sweet.

“One is a big celebration!”

Regina sighs, placing each twin in a highchair as she glares, _“You will be putting up with their temper tantrums later,”_

_“I know, babe…my parents, my responsibility.”_

“Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!” The twins chant and Regina’s glare intensifies for a moment before she kisses the tops of their heads.

“First we sing, babies.”

And so they do, Emma moving to wrap her arms around Regina’s middle as they stare down at the twins, Mary Margaret filming the whole thing…getting close-ups as the toddlers' jam cake into their faces and Regina lets out a long sigh, watching as the chocolate cake falls all over their nice clothes.

Emma kisses her cheek, _“I told you not to dress them up so fancy.”_

Regina pouts, _“I wanted them to look nice on their birthdays…”_

_“At least it’s not white…”_

_“I made one smart choice.”_

Emma chuckles, kissing her cheek again as Davie holds up his hands, “Mamas, cake!”

“Yes, Davie, cake.”

“Have cake!”

They laugh, bending over the boy’s highchair and opening their mouths for him to put his cake in, smudging blue icing on their faces.

Emma kisses Regina when they straighten up, getting off the icing and chuckling and Regina’s thumb wipes it from Emma’s chin and cheek.

“And to think, this is the first of many,” Regina says against her lips and Emma kisses her again before pulling back and swiping the icing from Hopes pink monster cake.

“My cake, ma!” Hope whines and Emma kisses a cake covered cheek before straightening up again, smiling at Regina as they lick the icing from their fingers.

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey,” Emma whispers, wrapping her arms around Regina’s shoulders and kissing the faded scar on her temple, hidden mostly by makeup these days.

“Hi,” Regina smiles, tipping her head back to rest against Emma’s shoulder and kissing her slowly, “He’s out cold,” she giggles, looking down at the little toddler fast asleep in her lap.

“Mmm, you just have that magic touch.”

Regina chuckles, brow arching, “Magic touch?”

“Yeah, you sing that song and comb your fingers through our hair and we’re out like a light…nobody can stay awake when you do that, especially ones with my DNA.”

“So it’s the Swan-Nolan-Blanchard DNA?” Emma hums, “I can’t believe they’re one…”

Emma looks across the room to Hope playing with Henry and Bailey, “Feels like just yesterday I was peeing on the stick and you were crying into your wine.”

“I was not crying!”

Emma kisses the side of her head again, “You were, you passed the yelling in anxiety stage and went straight into crying, I think you were more nervous than me and I was carrying the things.”

“Well, all the worry went away when I saw them the first time…”

“Yeah…they were pretty cute…”

Regina sighs, tipping her head to lean against Emma’s as she looks down at the small guy, so much smaller than his sister…they don’t even look that much alike. “He is an exact copy of you…”

“Hope looks like you…” Emma snickers, “I think all the donor’s DNA went into her.”

“People say that a lot…I think it’s because she acts like me while Davie acts just like you.”

“Did you just call our daughter a smartass perfectionist with an evil streak and our son a lazy laid back idiot who loves sweets?”

Regina laughs, joyous as she turns to kiss Emma, “Hope got your sweet tooth too, she also just got my brains.”

“Hey! I made that brain!”

Regina rolls her eyes, kissing her again, “You make amazing brains, darling.”

“You know it,” She kisses her again before looking around, “We should put this little guy to bed and try to corral Hope into her crib.”

“Letting your parents talk us into a sleepover was our worst idea ever…not killing them for the two cakes a close second.”

“Hope will crash soon enough,” Emma chuckles, looking back at her parents snoring away in a booth, “Although I should probably wake my parent’s up before we’re taking them to the doctors tomorrow cause they threw out their backs again…”

“Old age, my love…”

“Thank god we’re still young and beautiful.”

“I don’t feel that young with a son going to college and two toddlers.”

Emma snickers, kissing Regina’s temple and straightening up, “You put him down I’ll corral the tiny beast.”

“She prefers monster.”

Emma laughs, hand clasped over her mouth so she doesn’t wake Davie because it was true, Hope really did prefer if they called her a monster.

Regina repositions Davie against her chest, standing slowly not to disturb him anymore, singing quietly as she walks Emma following her with loving eyes until she was out of the room then she turns to Hope, running toward her.

“Little Monster! Time for bed!”

“No!” Hope shrieks with her little excited giggles, running to hide behind Henry, “Protect, Hen!”

“She’ll never get you!” Henry announces unhelpfully and Emma glares, “It’s my job as the big brother, Ma…”

“My little prince…now, move so I can put the monster down for the night,” Hope looks around him and Emma locks eyes on her, “It’s way past your bedtime, young lady!”

“No!” Hope hides again and Henry laughs, nudging Bailey with his foot making her giggle before she runs off to find her moms, “No slay me!”

“Not slay, just force hibernation,” Emma giggles as Hope looks around Henry again, sending her Regina’s trademark glare with her dark brown and Hazel eyes, “Davie is already asleep…if you come with me mama will sing you the song, maybe braid your hair?” She smiles encouragingly, Hope eyes her in thought with her little furrowed brow and scrunched up nose…seriously a spitting image of Regina…if Emma didn’t know any better she’d say Hope was Regina’s biologically.

“Not sleepy!”

Emma sighs, looking behind her to see if Regina was returning before looking back toward Hope and Henry, “Hope, baby, I know you’re not sleepy but can Ma at least get you ready for bed?”

“Uh, Ma…” Henry winces.

“What, kid?”

“She’s gone.”

“She’s what!? Dammit, Henry! You had her!”

“I did but you turned away and well…”

“Why does she always do this to me?!” Emma whines, stomping her booted foot, “Hope!”

“She can’t have gotten far…”

Emma whines, flailing her arms around, “Hope Elizabeth!”

_“Did you lose something, dear?”_

Emma frowns, _“No?”_

_“Oh really? So this little girl hanging off my leg isn’t our daughter?”_

_“Ha! If she’s with you she’s not lost!”_

_“Darling, I could feel you panicking…”_ Emma grumbles, stomping her feet as she moves toward their old room where the two cribs now sit where Emma’s bed used to, _“I’m coming.”_

_“I’m told she was promised braids.”_

_“I mean…it wasn’t a total fail…”_

Emma can hear Regina’s laugh echoing through her head, she can feel the small hand wrapped around Regina’s, tugging impatiently, it makes her smile. Hope was at least a whole head taller than Davie, skin tanned like Regina’s and her brown eye as dark as Regina’s too, she had her smile, and those curls Regina loves running her fingers through…Davie has them too, the only thing he has like Hope, his complexion is as pale as Emma’s his green eye like Emma’s…and he’s just as clumsy and loving too.

“Chiquitita, no hay que llorar las estrellas brillan por ti allá en lo alto,” Emma hears Regina singing when she walks into the room, Hope sitting in front of her in the large bed in her new monster onesie, repeating the words to the song after Regina sings them sometimes just the tune leaves her mouth but she looks so proud of herself, “Quiero verte sonreir para compartir tu alegria, Chiquitita,” Regina goes on, fingers raking through Hope’s hair as she pulls the curls back into a French braid, Hope singing with her as she distractedly plays with Regina’s feet folded in front of her.

“Hi, babies,” Emma whispers, smiling at the pair as she moves into the room to check on Davie, curled up with his baby blanket made by Snow and his little stuffed lion.

Regina smiles and Hope waves, “Mama, sing!”

“Sorry, baby,” Regina says, kissing Hope’s cheek, “I forgot where I was, can you remind me?”

Hope sighs, like it’s this big thing and starts the second verse, the words garbled and some wrong but she’s got the tune right and her little voice is too cute for Emma not to melt on the spot. She pulls out her phone, filming the moment, giggling as she says, “You heard her, Mama, sing!”

Regina glares, continuing the song as she finishes off the braid, “Otra vez quiero compartir tu alegría, Chiquitita.”

Regina ties off the braid, kissing the top of Hope’s head before gathering her up in her arms, Hope curling up easily, playing with the ends of Regina’s hair as she starts singing again, smiling lovingly down at Hope as she sings along, she’s much better with the first part than the second, but she’s getting it.

Hope yawns, “Love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, chiquitita.”

Emma clicks off the camera, toeing off her shoes as she climbs into the bed, kissing her little head as she says, “Love you too, Monster.”

“Tu alegría Chiquitita…” Hope sings sleepily, curled into Regina, mumbling the lullaby to herself until she’s out cold just like her brother.

“Told you, magical sleeping powers.”

Regina snickers, smiling down at the little girl, “I want more.”

Emma runs her hand over Hope’s back, “Okay…how many more?”

“As many as possible…I’d offer to carry, but…”

“I love carrying them,” Emma reassures, kissing Regina’s cheek and resting her head on her shoulder, looking down at their baby before looking across the room to see little Davie snoring up a storm in his crib, “You know that…”

“I know…” Regina sighs, turning her head to kiss Emma sweetly, the news that she was infertile hit her hard when they got it a few years back, apparently, all the tests had caused some problems and not only made her infertile but unable to carry…but they got through it together, with Emma by her side she could get through anything. “How many do you want?”

Emma lets out a thoughtful hum, “As many as possible…just maybe only one at a time…multiple births hurt, Reg.”

Regina chuckles, kissing Emma’s lips, “We should put her in her crib…”

“In a moment…Ma is having a moment…can you believe she was once in here?” Emma pats her stomach, goofy smile on her face.

Regina sighs, “Can you believe it’s been a year since you pushed their giant heads out of you?”

Emma winces, “Yeah, that reminds me, no more big headed kids…Davie…he,” she winces again and Regina moves her hand to run her fingers down Emma’s cheek.

“Like mother like son.”

“Did you just say I have a big head?”

Regina snickers, sitting up on the bed and sliding from it as she whispers, “Massive, my love.”

“Ooooh if you weren’t holding our daughter right now…”

Regina turns, sticking her tongue out at her before carefully lowering Hope into her own crib, pulling the Toothless blanket up to her shoulders and tucking the little toothless stuffy Granny made for her under her arm, Hope curling into a little ball around it instantly…she sleeps like Regina too.

“When do you want to start?” Emma asks, arms wrapped around Regina’s waist and kisses peppered over her neck.

“You know we can’t make babies by having sex, right, Emma?”

“Who says? We should try it, maybe magic soulmate powers will pop a baby in this oven.”

Regina chuckles, turning in her arms to kiss her deeply for a long moment before pulling back, their foreheads pressed together as she whispers, “Science and anatomy say otherwise, my love.”

“Science and anatomy still have no idea how soulmates even work,” Emma smirks, kissing her again, whispering against her lips, “Never hurts to try, baby.”

Regina laughs into the kiss, pushing her away, “You’re incorrigible, Mrs. Swan-Mills.”

Emma pulls her back to her, kissing her jaw up to her ear as she whispers, “And you’re a tease in your teacher kink look.”

Regina throws her head back in a laugh, Emma clapping her hand over her mouth so she doesn’t wake the kids, _“You idiot.”_

_“You’re right, this is a bad idea…you have no idea how to be quiet!”_

Regina slaps her arm and Emma snorts in laughter, kissing her again, Regina’s hands cupping her cheeks and thumbs running over her cheekbones affectionately, _“And you never change.”_

_“It’s only been 5 years, Reg! I’m still considered a young adult!”_

_“Oh, I know,”_ Regina snickers, pecking her lips once, twice, three times before pulling back, “My old lady.”

Emma pouts, “You’re only a few months younger.”

Regina detangles herself from her hold, walking toward the bedroom door, hips swaying and Emma really has no choice but to follow, _“One track mind, my love…”_

_“Your ass is a gift from the gods and I’m just appreciating it.”_

“Mmhmmm,” Regina hums, looking back at Emma with a smirk, “You can appreciate it more when we’re not having a sleepover with the whole family.”

Emma jogs up to her, tugging her into her arms and kissing her thoroughly, “I look forward to it, baby.”

Regina blushes slightly, fingers slipping into Emma’s hair to pull her back in, giggling into her kiss when Emma pins her to a wall, her legs moving up to wrap around her waist, the two acting like a couple of horny teenagers.

“Ah! Gross! Moms! Not in the hallway!” Henry screeches, the two looking over at the boy with his hand over his eyes and Moana’s, like she’s not a full grown woman, “We have rules about this!”

Emma snickers as Regina drops her head into her neck, face flushed a rosy pink as she grumbles inaudibly. “Sorry, kid, Moana.”

The girl chuckles, looking from around Henry’s hand to wink at her, “Good on ya.”

Henry lets out a whine, stomping toward his room, hand still covering his eyes.

Moana smirks at them, her eyes running up and down their bodies before chuckling at Regina now wrapped protectively around Emma, like a little koala. “You two have always been the cutest things…” she says before walking down the hall towards her and Lilo’s room.

“Babe, you can let go…I think if I stepped away from this wall right now you’d still be attached to me.”

_“You’re a horrible influence…we keep scarring our son.”_

Emma chuckles, kissing her shoulder, “He’s not scarred, so he’s seen us making out once or twice, he’s never seen us having sex so like, I call that a win.”

Regina grumbles into her shoulder again, legs falling to the floor, heels clacking on the cement before she wiggles, pulling her tight skirt back in place, “I hate you.”

Emma pulls her back by the hip, cupping her cheeks and trying not to smile at Regina’s cute little pout, “I’m sorry, baby, no more making out in the hallways, promise,” Emma finishes by kissing the tip of her nose, Regina’s frown easily turning into a soft smile, “Am I forgiven?”

“Yes…” Regina sighs, nuzzling their noses together like she has loved to do since they first started touching all those years back, she’s still that young girl deep inside but she’s also not because she’s come so far in the last five years, Emma knows that Regina from back then would be so proud of the woman she’s become…and Emma from back then would probably cum on the spot when she not only saw this magnificent woman who has completely found herself but well, she says fuck a whole lot when the kids aren’t around and Emma knows the 22-year-old perv well enough to know that Regina saying fuck was her number one fantasy well…after seeing if she could somehow get the buttons in Regina’s top to pop open more often…speaking of, Emma is so happy Regina still hates bras. “My eyes are up here, Em-ma,” Regina says, interrupting her thoughts, Emma looks up when she realizes her eyes have wandered, taking in that cute little smartass smirk and arched brow.

“Appreciating the gifts from the gods?”

Regina rolls her eyes, pulling out of Emma’s hold to rejoin the adults.

“Regina! Wine!” Zelena exclaims and Emma as her wonderful, classy wife, starts drinking straight from the bottle…man how she loves that woman.

 

* * *

 

They’re all sitting in the large TV room, Regina stretched across the couch, leaning back into Emma’s partially turned body, their hands laced together and a wine glass in her other hand dangling from her fingers over the couch as they laugh at the story Regina has just finished.

“Seriously, every time?” Marian laughs, sitting cross-legged on the couch, Merida on the floor in front of her, laughing around the lip of the beer bottle.

“I swear! Every fucking time!” Regina exclaims, gesturing with the wine glass, “It’s like he holds it all day when he knows we’re going out just so he can shit right as we’re walking out the door!”

Vidia snorts, her and Tink sharing one of the sitting chairs across the room, “Man! Kids are something!”

“The shit’s better than Hope’s disappearing act! I swear to god that kid’s got like magical powers or somethin’!” Emma rants as Regina chuckles and looks up at her with her little smartass grin.

“She’s just fast.”

“No, Reg! I’m telling you! No toddler is _that_ fast! I look away for like a second turn back and the damn kid is across the house!”

Regina laughs, taking a sip of her wine as she looks at the grinning group, “She’s just fast. Trust me, if she could actually vanish we would never catch her with her hand in the cookie jar…literally.”

Everyone laughs, Emma pouting, “Well, why doesn’t she sneak away from you?”

Regina grins proudly, “Because I can see if she so much as shifts on her feet when I watch her.”

“Okay, that’s it! Dad, can you train me? Obviously, Regina hasn’t done a good job!”

Regina gasps, David holding his hands up placatingly as Regina glares at him then Emma.

“Sorry, kiddo but we all know Regina is the most powerful one and the only one who has been able to teach you anything.”

Regina smirks, “Bribing her with sex goes a long way on concentration.”

Emma blushes a bright pink along with David and Mary Margaret but everyone else laughs and jeers.

“I thought you told her every time she got something right you would take off a piece of clothing?” Zelena questioned, a fake confused pout on her face making Emma throw pretzels at her, because she may not be able to do the room seeing thing but she can definitely do the throwing objects thing.

“We all know that leads to sex,” Ruby smirks, a wolfish grin on her face as she wiggles her eyebrows at the couple, “If they were straight they’d probably have like 10 kids by now.”

Regina is the one throwing the pretzels at Ruby this time, the young couple laughing as Ruby snatches them from her lap and just eats them, “Thanks, I was hungry anyways.”

“Okay, but you think those things are tough? Bailey has hit that blessed all-knowing stage…I told her that dinner was hot she said it wasn’t I told her it really was and to be careful…she stuffed the piping hot chicken in her mouth and then cried cause it burnt…and then called me a bad mommy.”

Nani looks over at her, sitting next to Emma on the couch, “That’s nothing, she spent 20 minutes arguing with me over the fact that the cat was most certainly a bee…I stopped arguing with her like a minute in! But she kept lecturing me on how his tail was really his stinger…”

Regina laughs and Emma smiles longingly, “Oh…I can’t wait for that! Hope is going to drive Regina nuts!” Regina laughs again because she knows it’s true, she and Hope already bicker about how her shoes go on.

“Henry told Davie fairies come into his room and make his dreams so we have a tiny fairy home and tea set in his room so they can rest…and if he has a nightmare he yells at the fairies…once in the middle of the grocery store he started yelling to Regina about a fairy who stole his cookies…it’s hard not to laugh at those things.”

“Bailey lost her first tooth…she is now scared of the tooth fairy.”

“I said I was sorry!” Mulan yells across the room making everyone laugh, Regina remembers Mulan calling her the next day crying because she accidentally traumatized her daughter and now she won’t sleep in her own bed.

“We haven’t had sex in almost a month!” Nani whines and there’s laughter again.

“Our sex life is great! No kids means we can do it whenever,  wherever,” Zelena announces with a sly grin at Belle who playfully slaps her arm in response, “Ow! Hey, they’re all friends here!”

Emma chuckles, “Yeah, my own parent’s tried to get Regina and me to hook up the same day we met.”

“We did not!” Mary Margaret pouts, “It was a misunderstanding!”

Regina lets out her slightly evil laugh, sipping her wine slowly before adding, grin matching Zelena’s, “Yeah, it’s not like you put us in the same room together and then started giving me the sex talk.”

“I said you didn’t have to have sex!”

“You expected us to sleep in the same bed after just meeting each other!” Emma snorts, even though she knows that as soon as they touched that first time they were stuck to each other like glue, making out on couches in the middle of the night like teenagers, sleeping in the same bed together half naked…so she supposes under different circumstances it might have been a possibility.

“I apologized!”

“Just remember I’m the one that had to teach Regina what a kink was,” David grumbles with a frown and they all laugh.

“Be happy, I had to give Regina the actual sex talk,” Zelena sighs, welcoming the snack food happily as she stops it mid-air and plucks them out of the air, eating them one by one as they hover in front of her face.

“Fuck off,” Regina laughs and Emma cuddles her closer.

“I’m so sad I missed all this fun!” Marian announces getting a kind smile from Regina, the two had become pretty fast friends.

“Just be happy you missed the war…I was freed and then sent off with a strange group of people because the kidnappings started.”

“I said I was sorry!” Zelena pouts and Belle pats her leg, Tiana shoving her soulmate playfully.

“She’s just upset because she didn’t get the downtime you all did.”

“The queens of darkness got a gas station stop!”

“We had a longer drive back!” Mal yells, leaning against Ursula who has her arms wrapped around both her and Cruella, the three showing up after the kids had gone to bed.

Regina sighs, remembering that time, it wasn’t all bad, the slow moments between made up for all the pain but she definitely loves the life she has now much better.

“It’s still crazy how we took down a whole bloody government cult.”

“Yeah, and to think all it took was me getting arrested and my soulmate having a protective and homicidal streak.”

“I didn’t kill anyone!” Everyone looks at her incredulously, “On purpose…”

“I still cannot get the image of that day out of my mind! I’m still shocked by what you managed!”

“I’m still turned on!” Emma announces with a laugh, wincing at the horrified looks from her parents while Regina cackles, downing the last of her wine. Emma grinning as the bottle floats across the room then pours the rest of the wine into her glass, “So sexy,” Emma husks, kissing the side of her head and getting a salacious grin right back from Regina.

It’s honestly amazing how much things have changed in 5 years, the world already a completely different place, their group is still solid and now filled with almost all their soulmates, a weird little self-made family that was at their wedding and all showed up to welcome the little ones into their home, now they’re here celebrating the twins’ birthday and Emma knows that in a few short months they will be gathering again for Henry’s graduation, Emma preparing to stream the thing in case they don’t allow their whole family in.

And now, now they’re considering more kids, as crazy as it sounds Emma can’t wait, if she could she’d go to the clinic right now but, well, they have time…also, they’re all very drunk and it’s well past midnight by now.

 

* * *

 

**3 years later**

 

Regina was rushing around the kitchen…well, she was trying to but it was a little hard with Hope and Davie wrapped around her legs, giggling at having caught her, “Babies, can you go play with your Ma?”

“No! We caughted you, Mama!” Davie announced with his big toothless smile.

“It’s just caught, baby.”

_“Ah, Reg, we have a problem,”_ Regina sighs, placing the carrot down on the cutting board.

_“What now?”_

_“Uh, well…you see…”_

_“Emma…”_ She feels a pain in her belly and her eyes widen, _“Emma Swan-Mills you are not in labour on Christmas Eve!”_

_“I might be in labour on Christmas eve…”_

“Fuck…”

“Mama said a bad word!” Hope giggles and Regina stares down at the twins.

“Okay, babies you need to let go of mama because the baby is coming,” They both look very shocked and Regina sighs, “Ma needs me, okay, so move, move.”

They both let go, running full speed out of the kitchen as she lets out a panicked scream, turning off all the appliances with her powers as she chases after them, “No running!”

She’s running after the two when the front door opens, Henry standing in it, “Hope Elizabeth put down your sister!” She screeches, rushing past Henry to grab the two-year-old from the air.

“Mom?!” Henry yells, his eyes panicked.

Emma chooses that moment to scream, “Regina!” Loudly.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Henry never hears his mom swear, “Uh, baby, you’re in charge!” She thrusts the toddler into Henry’s arms, floating Davie down the stairs as she runs up them yelling, “I’m coming, baby! Do not get amniotic fluid on my carpet again!”

“Henry!” The twins scream, running into his legs while his little sister, Sofia, grips his cheeks in her chubby little hands.

“Eyes different, Henry,” Sofia pouts and Henry sighs.

“At least someone noticed, Sofie.”

“Why wasn’t four enough?!” Emma screams and there’s a crash and Henry winces.

“Uh, Henry?”

Henry looks back at his soulmate standing awkwardly behind him and chuckles, “Didn’t I warn you my family was insane, Jacinda?”

“Hope?! How did you get up here?! Henry! I told you to watch them!” She screeches, Hope pouting as she floats back down the stairs.

“Mama! Want to help!”

Henry passes Sofie over to Jacinda and grabs the new floating toddler just as his moms are rushing down the stairs. “Everything okay?”

“Your little brother wants to be a Christmas present!” Emma hisses, hand clutched in Regina’s.

“Moms…” Henry starts but Emma screams and Regina’s definitely eyeing him and Jacinda looking very overwhelmed while holding the toddler.

“You found her?” Regina’s lip wobbles, and Emma is supposed to be the hormonal one but instead, Regina is the one crying cause her baby boy found his soulmate and apparently touched already.

“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Jacinda,” She waves awkwardly as Emma screams, Regina wincing at the tugging in her belly.

“Nice to meet you,” Regina rushes, tugging Emma closer to them, “Henry, watch your siblings we uh…shouldn’t be too long?”

“Sorry!” Emma calls as she’s tugged between Jacinda and Henry.

“Mamas!” Sofie cries and Regina runs back to her, kissing her cheek with a loud pop.

“We will be super quick, baby! Henry will bring you, Hope, and Davie to see us once your brother is here.”

Sofie whimpers and Regina looks ready to cry when the twins rush into her legs and Sofie grips her hair, “Mama…”

“Henry will give you the cake we were saving, and you can stay up and watch as many movies as you want,” She runs her fingers through her nearly black hair and kisses her nose, “I promise, baby but mama has to go now.”

“Mama!” Davie yells and Regina looks down at him then to Hope as her lip wobbles.

“Okay, okay, let go,” Regina says as she bends down, the twins attaching to her in a hug, looking up to see Henry sneak past to help Emma into the car, “Can you give me Sofia, sweetie?” Jacinda places the toddler on the floor and she instantly burrows herself between her siblings to hug Regina, “Now listen here, babies, mama has to go with Ma for a bit but by breakfast time you will have a little brother, you remember me telling you about this, right?”

“Yes, mama,” they chorus.

“Good,” Regina pulls back, kissing all their heads and accepting more hugs before she stands up, “Be good for Henry, Hope no levitating your siblings and…just, I love you all, okay?”

“Love you, Mama!” Davie smiles up at her, hand tangled with Sofia’s.

“I love you to the moon and back!” Hope grins and Sofie nods.

“Moon and back!” She echoes and Regina bends over to kiss all their heads, squeezing Jacinda’s arm as she runs toward Emma, Henry gathering her in a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before she runs around the car, Emma waving at them as they drive off.

“So when you said a chill Christmas with your family…”

Henry laughs, scooping up Sofia and Davie as Hope runs into the house ahead of them, “I’m so sorry.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Mamas!” the three toddler’s chorus as they run into the hospital room early Christmas morning and Regina smiles brightly at them.

“Shh, babies, your Ma and brother are resting.”

“Sorry, mom, they sorta got away from us,” Henry smiles apologetically and offers him her soft smile in return, fingers combing through Emma’s hair.

“It’s okay, Henry, I know just how sneaky they are, right, rugrats?”

They giggle and Regina kisses Emma’s head before slowly extracting herself from practically under Emma and sliding to the floor to accept kisses from her sweet babies.

“Merry Christmas, mama!” Hope says, holding out a brown bag, leaning in closely she whispers, “It’s a chocolate chip muffin.”

Regina chuckles, hugging Hope tightly and nuzzling their noses together, “Thank you, monster,” She looks up at Henry with tired eyes, “How are you, baby? They behave last night?”

Henry chuckles, sitting on the floor across from him, Davie instantly moving to sit in his lap, “They were pretty good, definitely didn’t ease Jacinda into this.”

Regina frowns, Hope moving to braid her hair and Sofie climbing into her lap, Regina sharing her muffin with her without even thinking about it, “I’m sorry, Henry, believe me, this wasn’t planned…why didn’t you tell us you met your soulmate?”

He shrugs, “We met in a screenwriting course…touched right away and we have only been dating for like a month…” Regina purses her lips sadly, “I didn’t wanna put more on your plate…and I was nervous…I didn’t want to just thrust my whole life story at her right away along with the rugrats.”

Regina sighs, holding her hand out to Henry which he instantly took, “You know you can tell me anything…you’re my baby boy, I would have been completely chill.”

Henry laughs, “mom, you’re literally the definition of having no chill…you pinned a ref at my soccer game against a wall when I was 14!”

“Well, he was very bad at his job…” Regina frowns, resting her head on top of Sofie’s as Hope sings quietly while probably making Regina’s hair look worse than it was after sitting with Emma for ten hours of labour and then sleeping in a hospital bed for maybe three hours before Henry called saying the little ones were antsy. “And this is different, this is your soulmate…I happen to have a lot of experience when it comes to that.”

Henry chuckles, “Mom, I love you but I taught you most of that.”

“12 years of captivity.”

“Unfair play and you know it!”

Regina tugs on his hand, squeezing it in hers, “You’re my son, Henry, our son and we would have supported your decision to not want to thrust the whole family at the poor girl.”

“Well, the universe had a different plan obviously.”

“I’m sorry about that, she wasn’t supposed to be due for another week but your brother wanted to apparently meet your soulmate too.”

“Are these drugs really strong or do I hear Hope singing? And Henry excusing hiding his soulmate from us? Because I did not take down a whole sick government cult thing for my son to hide his soulmate.”

Henry looks passed Regina to a smirking Emma, “How you doing, Ma?”

Emma chuckles, “Do you really wanna know?”

“Probably not…”

“Ma!” Hope calls, climbing onto the chair next to the bed and then the bed from there to hug Emma, “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Monster,” She says, hugging her close, “My other babies going to come give me a hug?”

Davie scrambles out of Henry’s lap climbing up using the chair just like Hope when Henry took Sofie from Regina’s arms and plops her on the bed as he walks around to kiss Emma’s cheek, “Merry Christmas, Ma.”

“Merry Christmas, kid,” she kisses his cheek before hugging all three toddlers close, Sofie places a slobbery kiss to her lips and Davie placing one to her cheeks.

“Merry Christmas, Ma,” The two say and Regina looks up at them fondly before pulling herself up from the floor, dusting off her yoga pants as she walks across the room to where the newborn is still somehow sleeping.

“You guys name him, yet?” Henry asks, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into a side hug, Regina leaning against him…he’s so big…she’s now a good head shorter than him, their height difference now reversed, her head leaning on his shoulder as they stare down at the boy.

“Daniel, after the young man who died fighting for me…” she sighs, reaching out to rub her hand over his tiny belly.

“I like it…” Henry smiles, “Merry Christmas and happy birthday, Daniel.”

“He looks just like, Davie, don’t you think?”

Henry kisses the top of her head, “Yeah, mom, identical.”

Regina looks up at him with a frown, “You okay, baby?”

“Just thinking about my other mom,”

“Oh…I hope they’re happy memories…” She leans back on his shoulder, “You know, she’d be very proud of the young man you’ve grown up to be…I know I didn’t know her but from the minute I saw you…you saved me, Henry and every day I’m so proud you let me call you my son…”

“I know, thanks, mom…”

Regina turns, cupping his cheeks in her hands and tipping his head down so their foreheads are pressed together, “I love you, Henry…and I think you should take Jacinda with you this year…to go visit her.”

“You sure? Don’t you wanna go see Grandpa?”

“He’ll understand if I miss today.”

Henry frowns, hugging her close, “I think my mom will understand too, I’ll go visit tomorrow, I wanna spend today with the family.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind.”

“I know.”

Regina sighs, pulling back to smile brightly up at him reaching up to run her thumb over a stubbly cheek, “Now, speaking of Jacinda, where is she?”

Henry chuckles, “She is probably still sleeping, I left her a message that the rugrats wanted to see you and…” and smiles self-consciously, “So did I…I haven’t seen you two since I left in the fall.”

“I missed you too, Henry,” Regina says, hugging him tightly, head resting against his chest making him laugh.

“You’re so small.”

“Watch it, I am still your mother, young man.”

He hugs her tightly, breathing her in while she breathes him in, “I’ve missed you so much…worst part of college.”

Regina sighs, “You’ll be back home soon enough.”

“I know, and I’m home now.”

“Whoa! Who are these little things?!” A nurse gasps, Emma propped up in bed, and Sofie tucked into her side, Hope and Davie talking adamantly.

“These would be our other kids, Sofie,” Emma ruffles her dark hair, “Our twins Hope and Davie,” then she looks across the room, smiling widely at Henry, “And of course our eldest, Henry.”

She blinks for a second at the fact that Henry is obviously only a few years younger than the two women, but she recovers fast, Henry chuckling with Regina because this has been happening since they dropped him off at school the first time…and every day since.

“I’m here to check on the little guy and his mama.”

“No,” Davie pouts, “This is Ma, that’s mama,” He points across the room at Regina, she shakes her head, stepping out of Henry’s hold to scoop this kid up from the bed and balance him on her hip.

“It’s okay, baby, we knew who she meant.”

The nurse chuckles, “I’m sorry, I’m here to check on your Ma.”

Davie smiles widely before tucking his head shyly into Regina’s neck.

“How about we get some breakfast and let the nice nurse do her job?” Regina offers, Emma sending her a sleepy smile.

“Okay!” Hope and Davie cheer and Sofie looks sadly at the prospect of being separated from Emma.

“We will be right back, Princesa, promise.”

“O-kay,” She enunciates, crawling toward Regina to scoop her up.

“Henry, help Hope down will you?”

“Of course,” He grins moving quickly to scoop the girl up and throw her over his shoulder.

“We will be back soon, my love,” Regina promises, wishing she could give Emma a goodbye kiss but the two children in her arms makes that basically impossible.

“Okay, love you guys!”

“Love you, ma!” they chorus and Emma basically turns to goo, Regina using her powers to pat Emma’s chest like she used to before turning to head out of the room.

“Oh, hey, Reg!” Regina turns, brow raised, “Nice hair, it’s beautiful, who did it?”

Regina blushes while Hope announces proudly, “I did, Ma!”

“Great work, Monster!”

Henry snickers, “It’s not _that_ bad.”

“Thanks…” Regina grumbles walking out of the room as Emma keeps laughing.

“It’s been worse.”

She hums, leading the way out of the hospital to find a close by café to get food.

 

* * *

 

 

**14 months later**

 

Regina and Emma lay in their large bed, almost falling off the side as they stare up at the ceiling, _“Why did we decide to have 5 kids? 4 young ones?”_

_“It seemed like a good idea at the time…”_ Regina sighs, pushing the tiny little foot out of her face, _“Who knew they’d all be scared of storms…”_

Emma lets out a quiet chuckle, trying to look at Regina around three heads and a pair of little feet. _“We will just have to work on this…”_

_“Yeah…but first we work on Daniel sleeping with his feet in my face…they stink, Emma!”_

_“Happy birthday?”_ Emma snorts and she knows if she could see Regina she would be seeing a glare right now, _“What, I usually get the feet!”_

Regina huffs, _“Henry and Jacinda are coming today…so there’s a bonus.”_

_“And the rest of the family…”_

_“That will be nice too,”_ Regina sighs, looking over at the alarm clock, _“Okay, prepare for hell.”_ Regina slams the off button as soon as it blares, Daniel crying, Davie looking around like a startled animal while Hope looks ready to kill and Sofie…sweet Sofie…still out like a light. “Shh, Daniel, it’s okay, just time to get up,” She scoops the toddler into her arms, cradling and rocking him to soothe him, Hope sitting up next to them and gently petting his hair.

“Shh, Danny, it’s okay,” she is so sweet…to Danny only.

Sofie opens her sleepy little eyes, green and blue, Hope and Danny the only ones with dark eyes.

“Emma, can you deal with them?”

“Yup! C’mon rugrats! Potty, breakfast then teeth brushing!”

They scramble off the bed and Regina sighs, leaning back against the headboard, rubbing Daniel’s back soothingly. “It’s okay, baby boy, mama’s got you…”

He whimpers and Regina kisses his dark curls, a little tanned hand gripping onto her shirt collar, “Mama?”

“Yes, Monkey?”

“Hap birfday.”

“Thank you, baby, how did you remember that?”

He giggles, pushing back to hold her cheeks in his chubby little hands, “Ma talk.”

“Oh yeah?” Regina grins, nose scrunching up as she nuzzles it with his.

“Yeah.”

Regina sighs, “How about we change your diaper and go make breakfast before your Ma burns the house down.”

“Kay!”

 

* * *

 

They arrive at the “safe house” before the others are supposed to, Hope and Davie walking between them both holding their hands with little Sofie in the middle and Daniel on Regina’s hip, Emma carrying the diaper bag and the presents for Regina the kids wanted to give her today.

_“Do you ever think it’s weird that my parents like live here?”_

Regina laughs, kicking the door with her foot as she looks at Emma, _“It’s been weird since I got here.”_

_“Fair…”_

“You’re early!” Mary Margaret exclaims, the Twins letting go of their hands to run into her arms and dragging Sofie with them.

“Grandma!”

“Hello!” She says, hugging and kissing them all before standing up, “Go in, your grandpa in just inside.”

They run past her and Regina screams, “No running!” as loud as she can before smiling at Mary Margaret, “Hi, Snow.”

“Happy birthday, sweetie,” She says, pulling Regina into a hug, kissing her cheek before hugging Emma in greeting too, then stealing Daniel away, “And how’s my grandson?!”

“Good!”

“Well, let’s go, ladies,” She smirks, turning to lead them into the large warehouse they still call home.

“Moms!” Hope yells, wide smile on her face, “Come say hi to grandpa!”

“Coming, baby,” Regina smiles over at Emma as she places the bags down, heading toward the older man sitting at the piano, “Hi, David.”

“Happy Birthday, Princesa,” He grins, standing and pulling Regina into a tight hug, Regina sighing as he cradles her head, holding onto him tightly.

“Thank you, David.”

He kisses the top of her head, Emma watching them affectionately for a moment before she waves over the little rugrats. “So how old are you now? 23?”

Regina laughs, “31, dad,” She says smirking at him when she pulls back only to be pulled into a tighter hug.

“I’m so proud of you, kiddo, and Henry would be too.”

“I know…”

He kisses the top of her head again before releasing her, “How’s your morning been?”

“I woke up to Daniel’s smelly feet in my face and the kids in our bed…so really wonderful,” Regina’s smile was filled with nothing but love, “and Henry will be here soon and I’ve missed him so much, not to mention the rest of the family.”

David grins, “Speaking of Henry…”

Regina looks up at him, brows furrowed, “What about–”

“Mom!” Regina gasps as arms wrap around her in a tight hug.

“Henry?!” she spins in his hold, cupping his cheeks instantly.

“Happy birthday!” he exclaims, picking her up in his hug and she laughs, hugging him closely.

“Thank you, baby.”

He places her back on the ground, smiling widely as Regina reaches up for his cheeks again, tears misting her eyes, “You knew I was coming!”

“I know…but I’ve missed you.”

“It’s been less than 2 months.”

“Too long.” She hugs him again, laughing as she hears the little rugrats call Henry’s name before colliding with their legs followed by the feeling of Emma approaching before laying her hand on her back, “I love all of you, so much!”

“Love you, mama!” They chorus, even Henry with his widest smile.

 

* * *

 

 

“Auntie Regina!” Little Robyn screams as she runs toward them, strawberry blonde hair flying behind her until she crashes into Regina’s body at full speed nearly knocking her down. “Happy birthday!”

“Hey, little sis,” Zelena smiles down at her, Belle behind her with the bags of presents, Regina’s brow raising, “I couldn’t choose!”

“And I thought you went all out for my 30th…”

“So I bought you a car…you needed a new one! That old van of yours was a safety hazard with all the kids you guys have!”

Regina rolls her eyes, pulling away from Robyn with a wide smile, “Okay, Pistachio, why don’t you go play with your cousins? They’ve missed you.”

“Okay!” She yells running off and Regina straightens up to pull Zelena into a tight hug.

“Happy birthday, Regina.”

“Thank you,” Regina sighs, “and you’re not late this time.”

“Robyn missed you.”

Regina laughs, pulling back and looking at Belle, “Go help your poor wife, will you?”

“Yes ma’am,” Zelena snickers, turning to take half the bags from Belle, and as she walks past Regina she says, “don’t get too excited, only half are for you, the others are for my nieces and nephews.”

Regina shakes her head, hugging Belle when she approaches before taking more bags from her, “We should have made her do something more down to earth like dog walking…”

Belle laughs, “I think somehow she’d have turned that into a million dollar enterprise too.”

“That’s fair…” They place the gifts on the designated table before Regina walks them to sit in one of the booths, “How’s the library?”

“Peaceful,” She snickers, “And your practise?”

“Good…really good,” Regina smiles faintly, “One of my patients made a breakthrough last week, said a whole sentence!”

“That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, who knew good would come out of that place…?”

Belle reaches over, squeezing her hand, “A lot of good came out of it, not just you being an excellent therapist.”

“I know, I got Henry and all of you.”

_“You okay?”_

Regina smiles, looking across the room, eyes instantly finding Emma’s as she plays with Daniel and Robyn on the floor. _“I’m fine, my love.”_

Emma nods, looking back down at their youngest as he produces a toy proudly.

“Happy birthday, Regina,” Mulan says hugging her from her seated position, “Where’s Merida, I was greeted by Mary Margaret and that’s just too much.”

“Happy Birthday, Auntie Regina!” Bailey runs over, so very tall.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Regina kisses her cheek, “You’re getting so big!”

“She hit a growth spurt, I think she got Nani’s height.”

“She’s a perfect mix,” Regina gushes, caressing her chubby cheeks.

“She is,” Nani grins, turning Bailey around by her head and giving her a nudge toward the twins, “Go play.”

“Bye!” she calls and Nani bends down for a hug.

“Happy birthday,” Regina smiles, “So that’s Henry’s soulmate, huh?” Regina nods, “She’s pretty.”

“She’s a very sweet girl, although I think every time she looks at Hope she gets reminded of her floating Sofie,” Regina chuckles, looking across the room where Henry and Jacinda are, playing with Davie and Sofie.

“I still wish I could have witnessed that,” Mulan snickers, slipping into the other side of the booth, “Did you and Emma properly warn her? Or does Aunt Mulan have to?”

“We’ve scared the poor girl enough, Mulan.”

“Sorry, I’m back! And have the ice!” Merida calls through the room, two bags of ice floating in front of her, “Happy birthday, Reggie!”

Regina shakes her head, laughing as Roger’s and Jefferson start yelling through the kitchen.

“Never a dull moment around this place.”

“You can say that again…” Zelena mutters as she drops next to Mulan, “By the way, Hope is way too smart, are you sure she’s got Emma’s genes and not yours?”

“I’m sure,” Regina smiles, looking at her little girl who isn’t so little anymore, still towering over Davie but she’s a gangly little thing with hair down her back in a French braid, still resembling Regina to a T.

“Senator Barker, Huh?” Zelena sighs and they all frown slightly.

“Yup! Happy birthday to me,” Regina mutters bitterly, “also convicted Raymond Bittersworth and Heather Strum.”

“It’s like they keep crawling out of the woodwork!”

“What do you expect from vermin?”

“I guess we can only hope that’s the last of em.” Merida sighs. “But! Today is Regina's birthday and there’s no Tentoria talk allowed!”

Regina smiles gratefully and they move onto a friendlier topic, Zelena’s million dollar business.

Regina is greeted by everyone as they arrive until the place is not only filled with her family, a family made of people she personally saved but also all their kids, playing and laughing and it’s hard to believe nine years ago she was this scared girl with barely any meat on her bones and struggled to speak a single word, she still has some hard days, her birthdays were hard at first, she hated celebrating them but soon she started to love them because they were less a celebration of her birth and more a celebration that she lived to find this amazing family, lived to help bring them together, Tink with her wife Vidia who now have two kids, a boy, Mathew and a girl, Eloise, who they adopted three years ago. Elsa and Tiana who now have a five-year-old daughter, Sabine. Merida and Marian who are happily married with a three-year-old little boy, named Roland, who looks exactly like Marian and is the sweetest little thing. Moana and Lilo got married last summer in Hawaii on the beach where they all vacationed, they adopted two puppies Jumba and Pleakley who they’re very happy with and are the cutest things in the whole world! Mal and Fiona moved to a small country house where together they raise their two-year-old daughter, Lily, while Ella and Ursula live in Vegas, one of the only places not turned into a stone district so the two women happily rule Vegas, Ursula headlining in casinos and Ella conning the pants off tourists...literally sometimes. Ruby and Dorothy are running a restaurant with Granny and Tiana…it’s one of the most popular places on the east coast.

She did that, and so every year instead of thinking about her birthday as a reminder of her captivity it became a reminder of her life again…and well Emma and the kids definitely made it something amazing, her first birthday with Emma and Henry the two made her breakfast in bed…sure they burnt most of it and got themselves banned from the kitchen from Rogers again but it was the best thing ever. Yes, it was hard at times and she might have cried that day, but it still remains an amazing memory because they weren’t all sad tears.

“Mom?” Henry says and Regina blinks, turning to look at Henry and Jacinda sitting in the booth across from her, “Wanna call ma here?”

Regina smiles, “Of course, Henry,” _“Emma, our son wants to talk with us.”_

_“On my way!”_ Regina turns, smiling at Emma as she slips between kids and adults alike.

“She’s coming…” Regina winces, “in true Emma fashion…” She winces again, “Emma! Lego!”

_“Fuck balls!”_ Regina laughs as Emma hops around until she falls into the booth next to Regina, leaning into her, “Those things hurt more than torture!”

Regina shakes her head, kissing Emma’s shoulder before she straightens up to face their chuckling son. “What’s up, kid?”

“We want to tell you something.”

“We got that much,” Emma chuckles while Regina leans forward, taking Henry’s hands in hers.

“You can tell us anything, Henry.”

“It’s a good something!” Henry and Jacinda share an excited smile before flashing it at them, Regina’s sure she knows what it is even before Henry announces, “We’re having a baby!”

“Henry!” She exclaims, tears pouring from her eyes, “I’m so happy for you both! Emma move! I want to hug our son!” Emma is frozen in place so Regina cusses under her breath before hopping over the back of the booth, an expert at that weird floating jump of hers as she lands softly then speeds around the booth and pulling Henry out of it to hug him tightly, “You’re going to be an amazing father, Henry.”

“Thank you, mom,” He sighs, head tucked into her shoulder for a moment before Regina pulls back, cupping his cheeks in her hands.

“Look at my little man! Starting a family!” Henry blushes and Jacinda chuckles, “Hey, you get in here too!” She nudges the woman in the booth until she slides out, getting pulled into the hug as soon as she’s standing, Regina crying happily.

_“We’re grandparents, Reg…at 31 and 32 we are grandparents…”_

Regina laughs, pulling away from Henry and Jacinda to look at Emma, “You broke your mother.”

“I thought you’d react that way,” Henry snickers.

“I got her,” she turns, placing her hands on both their cheeks, “You’ll be amazing parents and if you need anything you know we’re here for you…after all we have tons of experience.”

Henry laughs, pulling her in for another hug, “Thanks, mom.”

Regina feels a tingling and sighs, spinning to look across the room “Hope Elizabeth Swan-Mills and Sofia Ingrid Swan-Mills put down that piano this instant! Carefully!” She screeches, looking at Henry, “Are you sure you want kids?”

He laughs, “A little too late now,” He jokes before walking over and scooping Sofie up off the floor.

“Thank you, both of you, he’s been so anxious about telling you all week, he just idolizes you both and he wanted to make your birthday something special.”

Regina smiles at her, pulling her into a motherly hug, “We love you both, very much, Jacinda.”

“I know,” she smiles pulling back and following Henry over to the group of kids, their rugrats being the most trouble it seems.

“Emma?”

“Grandparents.”

Regina sighs, grabbing Emma’s hand, “come with me, my love.”

Emma nods, following her blindly through the building to their old room.

 

* * *

 

 

They’re laying on the bed they shared as young adults, staring up at the ceiling they spent months staring at while trying to stop themselves from touching…and now, now Emma is resting her head over Regina’s heart, Regina’s fingers running through her hair as she soothingly sings to her.

“Grandparents…”

Regina stops singing, “Yup, that’s what happens when we have a full-grown son.”

“How are you so chill? You freaked out for a year when he got his first girlfriend!”

Regina laughs, “I guess I saw it coming…he’s 23, Emma, with a stable girlfriend who happens to be his soulmate…things are bound to happen.”

Emma shoots up, staring down at her, “Who are you and what have you done with my Regina?! You spent my whole labour with Daniel freaking about him possibly having sex!”

Regina laughs, “We talk more now…”

Emma flops back down Regina continuing to run her fingers through her hair once again, “When did he get so big?”

“I don’t know…all I know is I blinked one day and he was a grown man…”

Emma snickers, “Remember when we tried to teach him how to shave?”

“Good thing we had David…we were very bad at it.”

“He was so scared his first day of high school, he wouldn’t let go of you all morning.”

“Yeah, actually it was me who wouldn’t let go of him,” Regina blushes, remembering the day, “He just let me have my moment…”

“Remember when we asked if we could adopt him?”

“Yeah…” Regina sighs, tears running down her face, “our sweet boy…that day was amazing, the three of us sharing a sundae…”

“He cried, you cried…I cried,” Emma laughs, “And now that sweet boy who bluntly filled me in on what was happening is now having his own baby.”

“Just wait until he gets married,” Regina’s lips wobbles, “He’s really grown up, huh?”

“We did good…”

“We did…but so did Lucy.”

“I wish we could thank her.”

Regina sighs, kissing Emma’s head, “Me too, my darling.”

“Some birthday present,” Emma laughs and Regina slaps her hip, “Happy 31st birthday, mom, you’re a grandma!”

Regina laughs, “When did we get so old?!”

“I got old the second the twins were born…no wait, actually the second we bought that house…that was the most adult thing after adopting Henry that we did…but Henry was too easy a decision to make me an adult.”

Regina hums, “I think I was an adult the second I saw him, I just knew he was meant to be my boy.”

“Always. In every life and reality.”

“Ours.”

“Yes…”

They both sigh, getting comfortable again, “So 30-year-old mothers of five with a grandkid on the way…that’s who we are now.”

“Don’t forget Detective and therapist, and wives…”

“I’ve been your wife since the beginning of time, that’s just fact at this point.”

Regina hums, “Remember our weddings?”

“Yeah…you were breathtaking in every single one of them, but ours was the best one, I could relive that moment forever.”

“Me too, my love…”

They fall silent again, Emma’s hand tucked under Regina’s shirt on her tummy while Regina’s absentmindedly ran through Emma’s hair, completely at peace in who they became, in where they are, and the choices they had made.

_“I love you, Emma Swan-Mills.”_

_“I love you too, Regina Swan-Mills.”_

Emma kisses the underside of her jaw, “Happy birthday, Grandma.”

Regina slaps her hip and Emma laughs madly, “Fuck you, grandma!”

Emma shifts to hover over her, “Hottest grandma ever.”

Regina rolls her eyes but kisses Emma nonetheless, “That’s right I am.”

Emma lays back down, “You think we can get away with a nap?”

“Since it’s my birthday I feel like it’s what we deserve.”

Emma chuckles, “Okay, go back to the magic sleep hands and song.”

“Demanding,” Regina smirks but starts doing as requested, Emma drawing patterns on her belly knowing it calms her as well and soon enough they’re both fast asleep, waking up hours later to their four little ones in bed with them sleeping all around them, Hope burrowed between them, her head of messy dark brown curls splayed across Regina’s chest, Sofie’s butt pressed against Regina’s hip, Davie laying across the end of the bed and little Daniel laying on Emma’s chest, snoring away just like Davie and their ma. Then there was Henry and Jacinda curled up on the couch Regina slept on once upon a time…a family, just what Regina used to dream about in the facility every night to keep herself alive, home, love, every wish had come true and somehow it was better than she could have ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU ALL FOR READING I HOPE YOU ENJOYED ALL THIS SOFTNESS!!! AND WELL OF COURSE JUST THE WHOLE FIC SKJGBSDKG
> 
> I look forward to hearing what you all think!!
> 
> And like remember the SQSupernova team is also sponsoring a contest for commenters, and you can find out more here, http://sqsupernova.tumblr.com/post/177527168129/the-swan-queen-supernova-comments-contest-returns
> 
> Take care,  
> Ang

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Through Our Eyes [Cover Art]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15782373) by [coffeesometime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeesometime/pseuds/coffeesometime)




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